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Sixty-Sixth Congress, Second Session 



Senate Document No. 303 



JOHN HOLLIS BANKHEAD 

( Late a Senator from Alabama ) 

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE 

AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OF THE UNITED STATES 

SIXTY-SIXTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 



Proceedings in the Senate 
December g, 1920 



Proceedings in the House 
January 30, 192 1 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 




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WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1921 






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TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 

Proceedings in the Senate — 5 

Prayer by Rev. Forrest J. Prettyman, D.D 6 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Oscar W. Underwood, of Alabama 9 

Mr. Knute Nelson, of Minnesota 16 

Mr. Duncan U. Fletcher, of Florida 21 

Mr. Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts 27 

Mr. Marcus A. Smith, of Arizona .- 32 

Mr. Charles E. Townsend, of Michigan 35 

Mr. Wesley L. Jones, of Washington 38 

Mr. Joseph E. Ransdell, of Louisiana 41 

Mr. John K. Shields, of Tennessee 45 

Mr. Atlee Pomerene, of Ohio 53 

Mr. Nathaniel B. Dial, of South Carolina 56 

Mr. Kenneth McKellar, of Tennessee ._ 62 

Mr. J. Thomas Heflin, of Alabama 67 

Proceedings in the House -__ 71 

Prayer by Rev. William Couden, of Concord, Mich 71 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. S. Hubert Dent, jr., of Alabama 77 

Mr. Martin B. Madden, of Illinois ,_ 79 

Mr. Thomas M. Bell, of Georgia 83 

Mr. William S. Greene, of Massachusetts 87 

Mr. Edward B. Almon, of Alabama. 89 

Mr. Halvor Steenerson, of Minnesota __ 94 

Mr. John H. Small, of North Carolina 101 

Mr. Finis J. Garrett, of Tennessee 108 

Mr. Otis Win go, of Arkansas 111 

Mr. Henry B. Steagall, of Alabama 113 

Mr. John McDuffle, of Alabama 119 

Mr. William B. Bowling, of Alabama 124 

Mr. William B. Oliver, of Alabama 127 

Mr. L. B. Rainey, of Alabama 130 



[3] 



DEATH OF HON. JOHN HOLLIS BANKHEAD 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 



Monday, March 1, 1920. 

Mr. Underwood. Mr. President, it is my sad duty to an- 
nounce to the Senate that this morning my colleague, Hon. 
John H. Bankhead, died suddenly at his temporary resi- 
dence in the city of Washington. 

For a quarter of a century he has been the foremost 
figure in the State of Alabama. I think he was the one 
remaining Member of the Senate who served in the army 
of the Confederacy, and thus connected this body with 
that portion of the history of our country. 

He was a man whose sterling character, probity, and 
earnest devotion to duty have given him a fixed place in 
the history of our Nation and of the State which he so 
long and faithfully represented in the Halls of Congress. 
He died with the love and respect of his constituents, of 
his friends, and of all who knew him. 

At the proper time, Mr. President, I shall ask the Senate 
to set apart a day on which proper tribute may be paid 
to his memory. I now submit the resolutions which I 
send to the desk. 

The Presiding Officer (Mr. Watson in the chair). The 
resolutions will be read. 

The resolutions (S. Res. 316) were read, considered by 
unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as 
follows : 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep regret and pro- 
found sorrow the announcement of the death of the Hon. John 
HoLLis Bankhead, late a Senator from the State of Alabama. 



[5] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

Resolved, That a committee of nine Senators be appointed by the 
President pro tempore of the Senate to take order for superintend- 
ing the funeral of the late Senator. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the remains of the 
dead Senator be removed from Washington to Jasper, Ala., for 
burial in charge of the Sergeant at Arms, attended by the commit- 
tee, who shall have full power to carry these resolutions into 
effect. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
the House of Representatives. 

The Presiding Officer appointed under the second reso- 
lution Mr. Underwood, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Pomerene, Mr. 
Townsend, Mr. McKellar, Mr. Fernald, Mr. Ashurst, Mr. 
Ball, and Mr. Harrison as the committee on the part of 
the Senate. 

Mr. Underwood. Mr. President, as a further mark of 
respect to the memory of my deceased colleague, I move 
that the Senate do now adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 1 
o'clock and 40 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
to-morrow, Tuesday, March 2, 1920, at 12 o'clock meridian. 

Tuesday, March 2, 1920. 
The Chaplain, Rev. Forrest J. Prettyman, D. D., offered 
the following prayer : 
Almighty God — 

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: 
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, 

Hath had elsewhere its setting. 
And cometh from afar. 

Not in entire forgetfulness. 

And not in utter nakedness, 
But trailing clouds of glory, do we come 

From God, who is our home. 

Such is the intimation of immortality. To-day we are 
brought to face once more the great question of life's 

[6] 



Proceedings in the Senate 



final issue. We are called upon to mourn the loss of one 
of the eminent statesmen in this country, a man whose 
character was forged in the furnace of civil conflict, tested 
in the glare of public office, refined and beautified and 
glorified in the service which he rendered to our common 
country. 

We thank Thee for the embodiment of all the elements 
of greatness that Thou Thyself hast inspired in the lead- 
ers of our people. We pray that Thou wilt ever raise men 
to take the places of those who fall and to stand for the 
unchangeable principles of Thy Holy Word. 

Bless and comfort the afflicted family. Give them the 
consciousness of the divine hope that ever abides in the 
hearts of the faithful. Help us to so discharge our duties 
as that when the summons comes to us we may enter 
unafraid into the presence of our God. For Christ's sake. 
Amen. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by D. K. 
Hempstead, its enrolling clerk, transmitted to the Senate 
resolutions on the death of Hon. John Hollis Bankhead, 
late a Senator of the United States from the State of 
Alabama. 

Saturday, May 29, 1920. 
Mr. Underwood. Mr. President, I desire to give notice 
that on December 9 I shall ask that the business of the 
Senate be temporarily suspended to consider resolutions 
on the life, character, and public services of my late dis- 
tinguished colleague, Hon. John Hollis Bankhead. 

Thursday, December 9, 1920. 
The Chaplain, Rev. Forrest J. Prettyman, D. D., offered 
the following prayer : 

Almighty God, we have come together as the representa- 
tives of a people whose Lord is the living God. All that 

[7] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

adds meaning to life, all that hath set the standard of 
honor, all that has given glory to labor comes from Thy 
inspiration. Thou hast held us in the hollow of Thy hand. 

We have set apart this morning hour to make mention 
of the name of a great statesman, to record with loving 
remembrance those qualities of heart and mind that en- 
abled him to make an impress upon this great Nation. 

We thank Thee for all the elements of manhood that 
have ever entered into the leadership of this great Nation 
of ours. We pray Thee to continue Thy blessing and that 
Thou wilt stir the highest qualities of life within us, that 
we may still follow the guidance of God in all our affairs 
and receive from Thee Thy constant approval. For 
Christ's sake. Amen. 

Mr. Underv/ood. Mr. President, by order of the Senate 
to-day has been set aside for memorial addresses on my 
former colleague, the late Senator Bankhead, of Alabama. 
I send to the desk the following resolutions and ask to 
have them read. 

The Vice President. The resolutions will be read. 

The resolutions (S. Res. 396) were read by the Assistant 
Secretary, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate expresses its profound sorrow in the 
death of the Hon. John Hollis Bankhead, late a Senator from the 
State of Alabama. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased the business of the Senate be now suspended to enable his 
associates to pay proper tribute to his high character and distin- 
guished public service. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
the House of Representatives and transmit a copy thereof to the 
family of the deceased. 



m 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama 

Mr. President: We meet to-day to mourn the death of a 
friend and colleague who passed into eternity, loved by 
his family and his friends, respected by his colleagues, and 
honored by the great constituency he served so well for a 
third of a century. 

John Hollis Bankhead, descendant of that sturdy 
Scotch-Irish stock to which America owes so much, was 
born on his father's farm in Marion, now Lamar, County, 
near the old town of Moscow, Ala., September 13, 1842. 
His father, James Greer Bankhead, a native of Union Dis- 
trict, S. C, settled at that place in 1818 and resided there 
until his death in 1861. His mother, Susan Hollis, was 
born in Darlington District, S. C, and came with her 
parents to Alabama in 1822, where she remained until her 
death at the age of 75. 

Senator Bankhead was educated in the country schools 
of his native county, and with this meager scholastic 
preparation became by wide reading and contact with the 
world a man of solid and practical learning. Realizing the 
need of proper training for the business of life, he was 
always the champion of education for the youth of the 
land. He was married November 13, 1866, at Wetumpka, 
Ala., to Tallulah Brockman, a native of South Carolina, 
who had been reared in Alabama, and they celebrated 
their golden wedding anniversary in 1916 at their home, 
Sunset, at Jasper, Ala. The five children surviving them 
are Louise, wife of A. G. Lund; Marie, wife of the late 

[9] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

Thomas M. Owen; John H. Bankhead, j'r.; William B. 
Bankhead; and Henry M. Bankhead. An interesting and 
unprecedented incident in American political history was 
that during the time Senator Bankhead was a Member of 
the Senate his son, William B. Bankhead, was a Member 
of the House, and on more than one occasion they were 
serving as presiding officers in their respective legislative 
bodies at the same time. 

At the outbreak of the war between the Confederate 
States and the United States, John Hollis Bankhead en- 
listed as a private in Company K, Sixteenth Alabama Regi- 
ment, Infantry Volunteers, in the company of Capt. J. D. 
Powers and the regiment commanded by Col. William B. 
Wood, of Florence, Ala. He was in the conflict from the 
beginning to the end; in the battles of Fishing Creek, 
Perryville, Murfreesboro — indeed, he was in all the battles 
of the western army in which his command participated, 
except when disabled from wounds received in battle. 
After the Battle of Fishing Creek he was promoted to third 
lieutenant, and became captain after the Battle of Shiloh. 
He led the Sixteenth Alabama Regiment in a furious 
charge at Chickamauga and was wounded. The battle 
ground was an old sedge field, which caught fire and 
burned rapidly to the dismay of many a wounded soldier. 
Capt. Bankhead's life was in imminent peril, but he 
crawled from the bloody and fiery field, carrying upon 
his back Pvt. John Custer, who was totally disabled. Sena- 
tor Bankhead's death removed from the Senate the last 
Confederate soldier to occupy a seat in this body. In 1918, 
when the United Confederate Veterans held the first re- 
union of the organization in the National Capital, wearing 
the gray Confederate uniform he appeared upon the floor 
of the Senate, received the cordial greeting of his friends 
and colleagues on both sides of the Chamber, and offered 
the motion, unanimously adopted, that out of respect to 

[10] 



Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama 



the valor of the Confederate soldier the Senate adjourn. 
He said, quoting from his remarks : 

A little more than half a century ago Confederate soldiers in 
arms were hammering at the gates of Washington in an effort to 
sever their relations with the National Government. Thursday, 
marching with broken body and faltering steps on a mission of 
peace and love, not of hatred and bloodshed, but in the spirit of 
resolute reconciliation and absolute loyalty to our flag, they will 
voice in vibrant tones to all the world an indissoluble Union of 
the United States. I am grateful that God has spared me to see 
this day when my old comrades in arms of the Confederacy are 
here in the Capital of that Nation, which for four years they strug- 
gled desperately to destroy, but which none in all this great 
Republic are now more anxious to preserve. 

On the occasion of the great Confederate parade Sena- 
tor Bankhead and Senator Knute Nelson, of Minnesota, 
a veteran of the Union Army, wearing the blue, marched 
down Pennsylvania Avenue side by side, denoting to the 
cheering throngs the established fact of a reunited country. 

During his service in Congress he voted for the bill to 
locate and mark the graves of Confederate soldiers who 
died in northern prisons or were buried in the North; he 
actively supported all claims for loss of property during 
the war; he voted for the resolution to return to the sev- 
eral States all Confederate flags and banners in the pos- 
session of the Federal Government and for the measure 
providing for the compilation of the rosters of the Union 
and Confederate Armies. The welfare of his comrades in 
arms was ever dear to his heart. He died a great Ameri- 
can, loyal to his reunited country, but he never forgot the 
hardships and the suffering of his comrades with whom he 
fought so valiantly for the flag that only lives in history. 

After the Civil War Capt. Bankhead returned to his 
home and resumed life on the farm. Although at the time 
he was in his early twenties, he was elected a member of 

[11] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

the Alabama House of Representatives for the session of 
1865-66 from Marion County. He was a member of the 
State senate from the twelfth senatorial district in the 
general assembly of 1876-77, during which time he voted 
for Gen. John T. Morgan to become a Senator in the Con- 
gress from Alabama. Thirty years later he succeeded 
Senator Morgan to that post of honor. In 1880 he again 
served in the House of Representatives of the Alabama 
General Assembly, this time from the county of Lamar, 
which he had helped to create. His service in both 
branches of the general assembly brought Capt. Bankhead 
into public attention as a man of more than ordinary 
ability. This fact, coupled with his humane character, 
prompted Gov. R. W. Cobb to appoint him warden of the 
State penitentiary. During his four years' service as head 
of the penal system of the State many changes for the bet- 
terment of the prisoners were effected. He recommended 
other reforms, since adopted, including reformatory train- 
ing schools for youthful delinquents. 

On September 3, 1886, at Fayette Courthouse, Capt. 
Bankhead was nominated for Congress by the Democratic 
convention of the sixth congressional district of Alabama, 
and elected to the office in November of that year, serving 
continuously from March 4, 1887, to March 4, 1907, a 
period of 20 years. For many years h"e was a member of 
the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds and 
chairman of that committee during the period of Demo- 
cratic control. It was during his chairmanship that the 
Congressional Library at Washington was completed. 
For his own State he was instrumental in securing Fed- 
eral appropriations for a number of public buildings. 
After March 4, 1897, he became a member of the Commit- 
tee on Rivers and Harbors, and during his entire congres- 
sional service, both in the House and Senate, always took 



[12] 



Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama 

a prominent part in legislation to promote navigation. In 
recognition of his interest in the subject he was appointed 
in 1907 a member of the National Waterways Commission. 
Through his efforts the Warrior River, in Alabama, has 
been made navigable from the great coal and iron fields, 
where it rises, to Mobile Bay. Realizing the value of deep- 
sea shipping to the port of Mobile, he worked unceasingly 
for the deepening of that harbor and for improvements 
and benefits to navigation of the adjacent waterways. 
Early recognizing the advantage and economy of water 
power, he devoted much labor to the enactment of a 
water power bill and the development of the immense 
water power energy at Muscle Shoals, on the Tennessee 
River, one of the great and successful results of his public 
career. During his fatal illness the water power law re- 
cently passed was in conference, and his last request to 
any of his colleagues concerning legislation of any char- 
acter was a message of his concern about certain features 
of that measure. 

He was always an earnest advocate of effective trans- 
portation methods and a pioneer in the promotion of good 
roads. He was one of the organizers, and for many years 
president, of the Alabama Good Roads Association, and 
from its organization several years ago to the time of his 
death president of the United States Good Roads Associa- 
tion, one of the largest and most influential organizations 
of its kind. He stood in the forefront of the men who in 
the last two decades pressed unceasingly for national aid 
toward the construction of a great system of highways 
throughout the country. His speeches in the Senate 13 
years ago were among the first in support of Federal aid 
for post roads, since an adopted policy of the Government. 
He was undaunted by the criticisms of his opponents, and 
went steadily on to his objective and secured an appro- 



CIS] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

priation of $500,000 for an experimentation and demon- 
stration. He had driven the entering wedge and the senti- 
ment of the country approved his action. Subsequently 
his bill was adopted for an appropriation of $75,000,000 
for post roads, later increased to $200,000,000, to be ex- 
pended in cooperation with the several States of the Union. 
His earnest and unceasing efforts in the end accomplished 
a great public work, for which grateful friends have justly 
made acknowledgment by naming a great transcontinental 
highway in his honor. The Bankhead Highway, begin- 
ning at Washington, D. C, and ending at San Diego, Calif., 
is a just recognition by the public of the achievements 
wrought by John Hollis Bankhead on behalf of good 
roads throughout the Nation. 

In a primary election held August 27, 1906, in a contest 
with six other aspirants. Senator Bankhead was nomi- 
nated by the Democratic Party of the State of Alabama to 
succeed to the first vacancy that might occur in the posi- 
tion of United States Senator from Alabama. On the 
death of the venerable and distinguished Senator John T. 
Morgan on June 18, 1907, he was formally elected by the 
State legislature. In 1911 he was reelected by the people 
for a full term to expire March 4, 1919. Again he was re- 
elected and was serving his thirteenth year in the Senate 
when death called him. Altogether his period of service 
in Congress was nearly 33 years. 

In the Senate he was a member of the Post Offices and 
Post Roads Committee and for seven years the chairman, 
and at the time of his death chairman of the Joint Com- 
mission on Postal Salaries. He was for some time a 
member of the Agriculture Committee and later of the 
Commerce Committee. 

He was a man who never ceased to grow in mental 
power and capacity to serve; each new responsibility that 



[14] 



Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama 

came to him he successfully mastered. He filled with 
credit to himself and his State the high positions conferred 
upon him. He died at his post of duty, a faithful public 
servant, mourned by a devoted people, who loved him for 
his frank and manly dealings with his fellows, his loyalty 
to his trusts of high responsibility, and his unassuming 
and modest mode of life. 



[15] 



Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota 

Mr. President : Senator Bankhead and I were associated 
as Members of the House in the Fiftieth Congress. It was 
my last term of a six-year service and his first term of a 
continuous service of 20 years in that body. When we 
parted on the 4th of March, 1889, I never expected that 
we would in the future become associates in the Senate. 
While I realized that he had a great political future in 
store for him, as for myself, I felt that my political career 
was at an end. But the stress of politics brought me in 
1895 into the Senate, while he was still serving in the 
House. In 1907, however, he left the House and joined 
me in the Senate; and from that time till the day of his 
death we were associates on one of the leading and 
important committees of this body. 

In 1861, at 18 years of age, he entered the Confederate 
Army and served till the end of the war with bravery, 
skill, and fortitude. He participated in many skirmishes 
and battles, and was three times wounded. 

Owing to changed conditions at home, and owing to 
changes in our own makeup, we of the Union Army on 
our return from the war found it no easy matter to take 
up the threads and duties of civil life and to find suit- 
able places for our future activity and usefulness. Most 
of us, however, in due time " found ourselves " in one 
way or another, for we were in a prosperous and happy 
part of the country, though a few were irretrievably lost 
by the wayside. Sheer exhaustion terminated the war 
on the part of the South, and the returned Confederate 
soldier had a much harder problem to encounter. He 
returned entirely empty-handed to an impoverished and 
in some places devastated country. 

[16] 



Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota 

The system of labor which had flourished before the 
war was no more. Political and social chaos seemed to 
prevail, more or less. It was not an easy task for the 
Confederate soldier to adjust himself to such conditions, 
to find a place for his activity, to find an opening for even 
a scanty living; for this is what confronted him, and this 
was a trial more heart-sickening, more utterly discourag- 
ing, than the stress and strain of the march, bivouac, 
skirmish, and battle. 

Yet, somehow, in the midst of all this adversity the 
mass of the Confederate soldiers "found themselves." 
Their war service had toughened them. Though they 
found scanty rations at home on their return, they had 
often had scantier rations in the army. It was hard work 
to cultivate a neglected farm with old, worn-out imple- 
ments, mules, and horses; but they had oftentimes in 
the army made long marches, partly shoeless, scantily 
clad, and with empty haversacks. 

Such men were not given to much repining. Slowly 
but surely, in one way or another, most of them went to 
work — many of them, too, who had never done any real 
work before. The problems of reconstruction came as 
an aftermath of the war and proved in many cases as 
great a burden and draw^back. The post-war burdens 
were, however, bravely carried by the old Confederate 
veterans until a new South gradually arose from the 
persistent efforts of the veterans and their sons and 
daughters, for they became reconciled to the fate of the 
Confederacy, and they began to realize that a greater 
future was in store for their country under the Stars 
and Stripes than ever before. 

Senator Bankhead was among the first and foremost to 
enter upon the great work of restoring the South. While 
his occupation was that of a farmer, which he never 
forsook, he was gifted as a safe and sound legislator; 

46667—21 2 [17] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

and his people took occasion immediately on his return 
from the war to avail themselves of his service in the 
State legislature, where he served many years in both 
branches with great credit and ability. After an interval 
of a few years, in which he served the State in an admin- 
istrative capacity, his people in 1886 sent him to Con- 
gress as a Member of the House, and there he remained 
till he came to the Senate in 1907. He became a promi- 
nent and leading Member of this body, and is an example 
of what a legislator can accomplish by devoting his 
attention to a few special subjects instead of seeking to 
cover the entire field of legislation. 

While he was faithful in attending the sessions of the 
Senate and the committees of which he was a member, 
there were two subjects that were ever near to his heart 
and to which he devoted special attention, namely, good 
roads and water-power development. As a farmer, he 
felt that one of the first needs of the farmer was a system 
of good roads; and being equally interested in the indus- 
trial development of the country he saw the necessity for 
legislation to develop and improve as rapidly as possible 
the many water powers scattered over the land. He was 
very active and persistent in securing the necessary legis- 
lation in these two fields, and while he was chairman of 
the Committee on Post Ofiices and Post Roads his work 
for good roads was crowned with success. He secured 
a most liberal appropriation for a series of years for a 
far-reaching scheme of road construction throughout the 
several States of the Union. He contributed more than 
anyone else to the accomplishment of this beneficent 
result. 

In the matter of the water-power legislation Senator 
Bankhead was equally persistent and energetic, though 
he did not live to see the final passage of the water-power 
bill; yet the bill as finally passed was substantially the 

[18] 



Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota 

same bill which had been agreed upon by a conference 
committee of which he was chairman in the session imme- 
diately preceding the session in which the bill was passed. 
The report of the conference committee was adopted by 
the House and would undoubtedly have been adopted by 
the Senate could it have been taken up before adjourn- 
ment. 

Many Senators have great speeches to their credit, but 
few, if any, have to their credit legislative measures of 
as great value as these two important laws to the credit 
of Senator Bankhead. He was always earnest and sin- 
cere. He was slow to promise, but a promise made was 
never broken. He was never enamored with any legis- 
lative Utopias. He was the best example of a safe and 
sound legislator that I have ever come in contact with 
in all my legislative career. He had the faculty of in- 
tuitively grasping in an instant, as it were, the bad and 
objectionable features of any proposed legislation, and 
if he came to the conclusion that it was dangerous or 
unwise he never hesitated to say so and to oppose it. 

From the moment that the war was over, and Senator 
Bankhead returned to his home to take up under many 
drawbacks the duties of civil life, he became thoroughly 
loyal to the restored Union, and was ever zealous for its 
welfare and prosperity. While cherishing the memories 
of the war, and proud of the valor of the southern soldier, 
his activity was wholly in favor of the progress and pros- 
perity of our reunited country. He was proud of the fact, 
and he had a right to be, that he had a son who was a 
prominent officer in our Army during the recent war. He 
had another son who followed in his father's footsteps 
and became a Member of the House in 1917, and is still a 
prominent Member of that body; and thus in these re- 
spects has this old Confederate veteran, who never quailed 
in war or adversity, been more blessed and more fortunate 

,[19] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

than some of us — fortunate and blessed because his heart 
and soul have been devoted since the days of the Civil War 
to the welfare, the prosperity, and the integrity of our 
common country, purified and strengthened through the 
crucible of war for all time to come. 

During my service here I have been quite intimate with 
many of my colleagues; with none of them, however, so 
intimate and close as with Senator Bankhead. During 
the Civil War we had been enemies in arms, but here in 
the Senate, when we were together, it seemed as though 
we had been comrades rather than enemies in arms. The 
spirit of true soldierhood was upon us, and so it was not 
so easy to realize that we had been opponents in arms. 
As soldiers, each of us had aimed to do his whole duty; 
but when the war was over its asperities were laid aside, 
as were the weapons we had used. The Union survived 
the shock of war, but along with it will also survive the 
memory of the heroic valor of the soldiers who fought that 
war. 

Senator Bankhead was the last survivor in this body of 
the veterans of the Confederate Army, and of the Union 
Army there are only two, advanced in years, who survive. 
While the Senator in his youth was a true sample of the 
old South, in his maturer and later years he was the living 
embodiment of the new South, with all its loyalty, vigor, 
and progressiveness. He has been more fortunate than 
the patriarch Moses. He has not only been permitted to 
view the promised land of a reunited country, but he has 
also been permitted to enter it and enjoy all its blessings 
in full measure for more than half a century. 

Dear Confederate veteran, accept this token from an old 
Union soldier. 



[20] 



Address of Mr. Fletcher, of Florida 

Mr. President: As one who honored and loved Senator 
Bankhead, I should not want this occasion to pass with- 
out joining his colleagues here in testifying to his ex- 
emplary life, great personality, nobility of character, and 
the extraordinary length and value to his country of his 
public career. 

I need not refer to the interesting biographical data 
already mentioned, but beginning with his service here 
we find a continuation of accomplishments which char- 
acterized his long and faithful public service. 

In the Democratic primaries of 1906 he was nominated 
alternate Senator, and in June, 1907, he was appointed 
United States Senator by the governor to fill the vacancy 
caused by the death of Hon. John T. Morgan, and in July, 
1907, was elected to that office by the legislature. He was 
reelected by the legislature in January, 1911, for the full 
term beginning March 4, 1913. He was reelected Novem- 
ber 5, 1918, for the full term beginning March 4, 1919. 
Although he had opposition in the primaries of 1918 he 
made this characteristic announcement June 24 of that 
year: 

It is my purpose to remain in Washington during the campaign. 
I feel a pressing obligation to contribute, by my presence, every 
energy I possess to aid our President in the prosecution of the war 
to a victorious conclusion. 

My son and grandsons, the sons and grandsons of my fellow 
citizens all over Alabama, are with the colors. I can help them 
best by staying at my place of duty. I could not help them by a 
political campaign in Alabama in my own interests. 

I shall stay close to my duty here in this hour of national peril, 
let the results of my political fortune be what they may, and sub- 
mit my candidacy with an abiding faith that the people of Ala- 
bama will not fail to protect the interests of a faithful public 
servant. 

[21] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 



He did remain at his post and the people of Alabama 
did prove true. 

In the Senate he gave special attention to the work of 
the Commerce Committee, of which he was a member, 
and the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, of 
which he became chairman. 

Early recognizing the economy of water power he made 
the development of Muscle Shoals, on the Tennessee River, 
one of the great and successful labors of his incomparable 
public service. And the farmers of the country will ever 
have cause to bless his memory for this work in behalf of 
the enrichment of their fields. By this development the 
need of agriculture for cheap and abundant fertilizer will 
be supplied. 

The Bankhead Highway, the longest road in the world 
bearing one name, beginning in Washington, D, C, and 
ending at San Diego, Calif., is a just recognition by the 
public of the achievements wrought by John Hollis Bank- 
head in behalf of good roads throughout the Nation. 
Until he pressed the matter of Federal aid to military and 
post roads, the people of the United States had believed 
that a constitutional inhibition precluded this assistance 
out of the National Treasury. His first efforts to prove 
otherwise were derided by his political opponents. In the 
face of criticism he went steadily on to his objective and 
secured an appropriation for experimentation and demon- 
stration. Soon the Nation awoke to its opportunities and 
privileges and got behind the great leader on the subject. 
The last good roads legislation he secured carried an ap- 
propriation of $300,000,000, to be expended within the 
several States of the Union. In appreciation of this work 
for the good of mankind a grateful people have named 
the greatest transcontinental highway in his honor. Along 
this highway it is contemplated that double rows of trees 



[22] 



Address of Mr. Fletcher, of Florida 

will be planted in memory of the soldiers of the World 
War, and thus the Bankhead Highway becomes in a 
double sense a " Road of Remembrance." 

Illustrative of his deep concern for the welfare of the 
people and the prosperity of the country and his resource- 
fulness in emergencies, may be cited his efforts and plans 
to relieve the deplorable conditions which confronted the 
cotton growers in the fall of 1914, when the price dropped 
far below the cost of production. A measure was intro- 
duced in the Senate requiring the Government to purchase 
5,000,000 bales. It would have been a profitable transac- 
tion for the Government, but there were serious objections 
to the proposal, and Senator Bankhead urged a more fea- 
sible, more efficacious, and more statesmanlike plan, to 
wit, that the State issue three-year bonds and buy at 10 
cents per pound one-half the cotton crop grown in the 
State. If his plan had been adopted the farmers of Ala- 
bama, for instance, would have saved $10,000,000, and the 
State would have had a profit of $25,000,000— enough to 
have paid the entire bonded and floating debt of the State, 
with enough over to have hard-surfaced the main public 
roads. 

The Senate will recall that extraordinary and most im- 
pressive occurrence, June 5, 1917, when Senator Bank- 
head appeared in his gray uniform and submitted a mo- 
tion which was unanimously agreed to, in these eloquent 
words : 

Mr. President, in submitting the motion I intend to make I trust 
no Senator will feel that it is an imposition upon the time or the 
business of the Senate or that its purpose implies any motive of 
disloyalty to the flag of our country. On the contrary, it is in- 
tended as a tribute to the patriotism of the Confederate veteran 
and his son, who stand ready and willing to offer their lives and 
their means for the perpetuation of the Union which they so des- 
perately and at such great sacrifice attempted to dissolve. I take 

[28] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

the liberty of offering this motion since I am the only remaining 
Senator who served four full years as a Confederate soldier. 

The local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and the civic 
organizations of the city of Washington have extended the Con- 
federate veterans a most generous and pressing invitation to hold 
their twenty-seventh annual reunion in the Capital City of the 
Nation, and in the same generous and gracious spirit the invitation 
was accepted. To-day the shattered remnants of the armies of 
Lee and Jackson, Johnston and Bragg, and of the navies of the 
Confederacy, who are physically and financially able, are in Wash- 
ington and on Thursday will march with their sons down Penn- 
sylvania Avenue in review before the President of the United 
States. Think, Senators, of the significance of a spectacle like 
thisl A little more than half a century ago these same men in 
arms were hammering at the gates of Washington in an effort to 
sever their relations with the National Government. Thursday, 
marching with broken body and faltering step, on a mission of 
peace and love, not of hatred and bloodshed, but in a spirit of 
resolute reconciliation and absolute loyalty to our flag, they will 
voice in vibrant tones to all the world an indissoluble Union of 
the United States. I am grateful that God has spared me to see 
this day, when my old comrades in arms of the Confederacy are 
here in the Capital of that Nation which for four years they strug- 
gled desperately to destroy, but which none in all this great 
Republic are now more anxious to preserve. 

For four years I marched and fought under the Stars and Bars. 
Five immediate members of my family are now enlisted under the 
Stars and Stripes — a son, two grandsons, and two nephews. They 
will even up our records. 

Now, Mr. President, as a mark of honor and respect to the Con- 
federate veterans assembled in reunion in the city of Washington, 
the Capital of the United States of America, I move that the Senate 
adjourn until 12 o'clock noon on Friday next. 

The Congressional Record further shows: 

The Vice PREsmENT. The question is on agreeing to the motion 
of the Senator from Alabama. 

The motion was agreed to; and (at 12 o'clock and 10 minutes 
p. m.) the Senate adjourned until Friday, June 8, 1917, at 12 
o'clock m. 



[24] 



Address of Mr. Fletcher, of Florida 

I was proud to inarch that day, as one of the sons, in the 
grand parade that was the climax of the reunion down 
Pennsylvania Avenue, behind the Confederate veteran in 
gray side by side with the Union veteran, the senior Sena- 
tor from Minnesota [Mr. Nelson], in blue, their comrade- 
ship denoting to the cheering throngs the unity of the 
country. 

The last of the Confederates in the United States Senate 
passed with the death of Capt. Bankhead, which occurred 
at his home in Washington, D. C, March 1, 1920. 

Accompanied by his loved companion, with whom he 
had lived an ideal married life of 54 years, his children 
and grandchildren, his faithful secretaries, and a large 
delegation of Members of both Houses of Congress, his 
remains were taken to the State he had served so long 
and ably and buried amid the hills he had loved so 
ardently and among the people who had delighted to honor 
him in life and who mourned him in death. After the 
funeral at the Methodist Church in Jasper, Ala., the burial 
services were conducted by the Masons, of which he was 
past grand master. 

We need him now in dealing with the serious govern- 
mental problems which confront us. To be deprived of 
his great aid in their wise solution means a material loss 
to the Nation. 

Even tempered, self-controlled, gentle, and kind, always 
considerate of others, he made warm friends, whom he 
held in growing attachment. 

Of commanding appearance, he was great in mind and 
in heart as well. 

His practical common sense, sound judgment, sterling 
honesty, and noble purposes, combined with unusual intel- 
lectual gifts and high character to make him a true states- 
man and wise leader. 



[25] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

His patriotism was deep and strong and ran true through 
every fiber of his being. 

He lived the wholesome life of the good citizen in full 
sympathy and close touch with his fellow men. 

He recognized and illustrated the truth that the true 
road to preferment is the straight, though hard, road of 
personal effort, and the rule of that road is the clean, 
though harsh, rule of survival by merit. 

He appreciated the value of the sailor's skill which 
enables him to go forward by the very winds that blow 
against him. 

Day by day and hour by hour he made for himself 
while here the life in the spiritual world he now enjoys. 
In that place in the spiritual universe, which only the mind 
and spirit may apprehend, the only test is character, and 
our departed friend lived a life here which assures us the 
final judgment admitted him to a freer, fuller, happier 
existence. 

To-night as I sat at my window 

While the West was all agleam 
With that strange and wonderful splendor 

That is fleeting as a dream, 
I thought that the hands of angels 

Had flung heaven's gateways wide, 
And I caught some glimpse of the glory 

From the hills on the other side. 

Is it not a comforting fancy. 

This sunset thought of mine, 
That always the gates of heaven 

Swing open at day's decline — 
That those whose work is all ended 

From our earthly woes and ills. 
May pass to the peace and gladness 

That crown the beautiful hills? 



[26] 



Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 

Mr. President: No one who knew Senator Bankhead 
can think of him or speak of him as we speak of him 
here to-day without a keen sense of personal loss, for 
he was one of those men, none too common, who always 
inspired affection in all who came in contact with him. 
As my thoughts turn to him many memories arise of days 
long dead, for we both began our life in Washington in 
the same Congress. For six years I was with him in the 
House, and all the memories of our acquaintance there 
and of my service with him are pleasant and smiling as 
they look at me out of the past. They are recollections 
I like to recall. 

Then after those six years I came to the Senate. Sen- 
ator Bankhead continued to serve in the House for 14 
years longer, and then he also came to the Senate, where 
he remained until his death 12 years later. Here the 
acquaintanceship of the House ripened into friendship, 
and I became very much attached to him; something not 
very remarkable, for he was endowed as few men are 
with the happy gift of attaching people to him, all with- 
out effort or intention, because the power was innate, and 
he could not help exercising it wherever he went and 
upon whomever he met. Rufus Choate once said that 
there are some men whom one hates with cause and 
others peremptorily, like Dr. Fell of the familiar rhyme. 
I think the reverse has also much truth in it. As we go 
on in the world we encounter very many of our fellow 
men, for the most part with indifference, but there are 
always some, fortunately for us not a few, whom we 
respect, admire, love, and esteem for good and easily 



[27] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

explained reasons, and also others, by no means so 
numerous, who excite a feeling of affection at once, at the 
first contact and peremptorily, no cause or reason being 
either asked or required. The rare quality of these last 
was characteristic of Senator Bankhead. It is a gift 
which, like what we call personal charm, rather defies 
analysis, but no one who has felt it as we did with him 
ever denies the fact of its existence. 

Many elements go to the making up of this power to 
inspire affection at the first sight, on no especial grounds 
or on no grounds at all. It is there. It holds us captive, 
and no more need be said. Yet there are qualities in the 
man so endowed which if not the cause of the ability to 
inspire affection go with it and are inseparable from it. 
Kindliness, gentleness, tolerance, and good sense; sympa- 
thetic ways, something again quite indefinable; a generous 
loyalty to friends which draws no lines of politics or 
party; an abundant sense of humor; and an atmosphere 
inviting trust and confidence which are never disappointed. 
We shall all, I believe, agree that in this enumeration I 
have been describing Senator Bankhead as we knew him, 
and if this be granted there is no cause for wonder at our 
fondness for him or at the grief w^e all felt when he ceased 
to live. 

To make sure of the Congress which we entered together 
I glanced at the little biographical sketch of Senator Bank- 
head in the Directory. It was very brief, and I read it 
through in a moment. Four years a soldier in the Con- 
federate Army and thrice wounded. A planter by occu- 
pation. Three times a representative in the General As- 
sembly of Alabama, a year in the State senate, another 
in the lower branch; then 20 years in the House of Repre- 
sentatives and 12 years in the Senate. That is all. A dry, 
unadorned list of dates and offices, and yet as I reflected 



[28] 



Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 

upon it I found much meaning in it and the record of a 
fine and useful life shone very clearly through the com- 
monplace words of the catalogue. "A planter," it said, 
one who drew his living and sustained his family from 
the earth itself; a member of that ancient calling which 
goes back to a dim past, when the men who settled down 
in one spot and tilled the soil lifted the whole race from 
the savagery of wandering tribes to the permanency of a 
fixed dwelling place, which is the first stage and the sure 
foundation of enduring and organized society. Through 
the steady effort of such men the landowner replaced the 
nomad. "A planter " meant also a freeholder, a position 
reached after years of struggle by the people of our west- 
ern civilization, and the freeholder, thus established, has 
become the bulwark of society, for the men who own their 
land can always be trusted to love and protect it, and that 
means to guard their country. 

Then conies four years of war, with its proof of high 
courage and readiness to sacrifice all for the cause the 
man holds dear. Then follows more than half a century 
of public service, always upward, and in due time attain- 
ing to the high places of public life. It was a most honor- 
able and distinguished service, that of Senator Bankhead, 
never clamorous or self-advertised, but always as modest 
in appearance as it was diligent, valuable, and effective in 
reality. Two years before his death there was held here 
in Washington the twenty-seventh annual reunion of the 
Confederate Veterans, and Senator Bankhead made on 
this floor a motion that the Senate adjourn over the day of 
their parade. I imagine that all who were present must 
recall the scene when Senator Bankhead, dressed in a 
uniform of Confederate gray, simple, as always, without 
notice and without parade, arose and addressed the Senate 
in support of his motion. It was an occasion far more 



[29] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

memorable than most of those which, widely heralded, 
carefully announced, and decked with all the forms of 
official ceremony, have in this Chamber drawn crowds of 
sight-seers and arrested public attention; the more mem- 
orable because it was a most significant expression of the 
union of a great people. Those words, the words that he 
then uttered, have been quoted already on this floor by 
two Senators. I have them here. Nothing I could say of 
him would be complete without them. 
Senator Bankhead said : 

To-day the shattered remnants of the armies of Lee and Jackson, 
Johnston and Bragg, and of the navies of the Confederacy, who 
are physically and financially able, are in Washington and on 
Thursday will march with their sons down Pennsylvania Avenue 
in review before the President of the United States. Think, Sena- 
tors, of the significance of a spectacle like this I A little more than 
half a century ago these same men in arms were hammering at the 
gates of Washington in an eff"ort to sever their relations with the 
National Government. Thursday, marching with broken body and 
faltering step on a mission of peace and love, not of hatred and 
bloodshed, but in a spirit of resolute reconciliation and absolute 
loyalty to our flag, they will voice in vibrant tones to all the world 
an indissoluble Union of the United States. I am grateful that 
God has spared me to see this day, when my old comrades in arms 
of the Confederacy are here in the Capital of that Nation which 
for four years they struggled desperately to destroy, but which 
none in all this great Republic are now more anxious to preserve. 

For five years I marched and fought under the Stars and Bars. 
Five immediate members of my family are now enlisted under the 
Stars and Stripes — a son, two grandsons, and two nephews. They 
will even up our records. 

It seems to me that this was a very noble declaration. 
It came from the heart. It was instinct with love of coun- 
try. It was American in the highest sense, generous, 
patriotic, brave, and truthful. To me it seems to be filled 
with a very beautiful spirit. It was a fitting conclusion 



[30] 



Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 

and a crown above price to a long and well-spent life 
given to the service of his country. As Emerson said of 
another distinguished American so we may say of Senator 
Bankhead: " Yet the fullness of his respect for every man 
and his self-respect at the same time have their reward, 
and after sitting all these years on his plain wooden bench 
with eternal patience, Honor comes and sits down by him." 
Such a man gives us faith in America and in the Ameri- 
can people. What better service can anyone render to his 
country and his time? What greater reward can any man 
earn than to have all who know him feel a great gladness 
that he lived and a deep sorrow that he has gone from 
among them? 



131] 



Address of Mr. Smith, of Arizona 

Mr. President: Occasions of this character are pecul- 
iarly trying and painful to me, where the subject of our 
eulogies was a verj'^ close and very dear friend of mine 
through all the years of manhood's real life. 

I first heard of him the day I first met him as we took 
our first congressional oath of office at the opening of the 
Fiftieth Congress, in December, 1887. 

That was a truly great House of Representatives, on 
whose membership he early impressed himself as a man 
of rare judgment and great sincerity of purpose and equal 
sincerity of speech. Modest, yet firm, and, if need be, ag- 
gressive in the right as he was given to see it. Unfaltering 
in his friendships, yet just in his judgments even where 
they were concerned. As brave as a lion, as tender as a 
woman, as true as a magnet, he stepped unassumingly into 
public life in his early manhood and by these striking 
characteristics maintained himself in the love and ad- 
miration of the people of his State until the final summons 
came to him, as it will soon come to us all. 

The Fiftieth Congress and the two or three succeeding 
ones had, in my judgment, no superior in our legislative 
history, and I deem it a great honor and benefit to myself 
and to all those who served with the men of that day. 

Dingley and Reed, of Maine; Carlisle and Breckenridge, 
of Kentucky; Culberson and Mills, of Texas; Bland, 
Burns, Hatch, and Stone, of Missouri; Sunset Cox and 
Amos Cummings, of New York; Turner and Crisp, of 
Georgia; Cannon, Springer, and Payson, of Illinois; Hol- 
man and Shively, of Indiana; Henry Cabot Lodge, of 
Massachusetts; Julius C. Burroughs, of Michigan; McKin- 
ley, Grosvenor, and Butterworth, of Ohio; Pig Iron Kelley 
and Dalzell, of Pennsylvania; and as many more of as 

[32] 



Address of Mr. Smith, of Arizona 



great if not equal ability, but possibly less renown, shed 
glory on that Congress in which our friend first served. 

A hasty retrospect of the Senate reveals at once the 
names of Aldrich and Allison, Hoar and Sherman, Ed- 
munds and Hale, Daniel of Virginia, Evarts of New 
York, George and Walthall of Mississippi, Ingalls and 
Plumb, Voorhees and Turpie, Vance, Vest, Morgan and 
Pugh of Alabama, and Isham G. Harris of Tennessee. 
What a galaxy of brains and patriotism here faces us. 
Our dead friend John H. Bankhead knew them all, and 
finally reached the Senate early enough to mingle with 
some of them. 

Still purposeful, courageous, and undaunted, he pursued 
his course undoubting and unafraid until in this body he 
succeeded in impressing on the country the necessity of 
aid by the General Government to good roads in the 
States, and the great impetus thus given promises shortly 
to so lessen the costs of transportation as to double the 
profits of all original producers without increasing the 
cost to the consumers. A great continental highway from 
ocean to ocean, now in course of construction, justly bears 
his name, and this monument to his vision, patriotism, 
perseverance, and statesmanship will keep his memory 
fresh in the minds of grateful people when all the great 
men I have mentioned will be known only to a few stu- 
dents of our history. 

But it is not as Congressman or Senator or statesman 
that my memory cherishes him, but as John Bankhead, 
the man and friend whom I loved. He was not demon- 
strative in his affection or other emotions, but calm, deep, 
and intensely sincere, in consequence of which he was 
loved most by those who knew him best. Slow to ask but 
quick to grant reasonable favors. Slow to anger, which 
was terrible when justly provoked, yet quick to forgive 
and forget unpremeditated injuries. Just in his judgment 
of men and their motives, hating injustice, cant, and 



46667—21 3 [33] 



Memorial Addresses : Senator 'Bankhead 

hypocrisy with an intense hate wherever seen, yet looking 
with pitying leniency on the foibles and weaknesses of his 
fellows. 

Possessing such character, it is no wonder that his 
friends so loved him and his State so honored him. He 
was the last Confederate soldier to serve in this body, and 
how like him it was to rarely speak and never boast of his 
long, brave service to the lost cause. He never regretted 
it, never apologized for it, never doubted that right was 
on the side for which he fought. After it was finished he 
was singularly free from the ruinous prejudices that 
alvv'ays follow such catastrophes. 

But I have no doubt that the sufferings through which 
the South passed in the long-drawn period of reconstruc- 
tion intensified his love for his own State until it became a 
passion with him. This was not unnatural in a man like 
him. 

How intense was this feeling for his native State of 
Alabama was revealed to me in private converse shortly 
before his death wherein he spoke so feelingly of Car- 
mack's tribute to the South and expressed his thorough 
and complete accord with every sentiment uttered, and 
repeated almost verbatim that thrilling and tender burst 
of pathetic eloquence : 

"The South is a land that has known sorrows; it is a 
land that has broken the ashen crust and moistened it with 
tears; a land scarred and riven by the plowshare of war 
and billowed with the graves of her dead, but a land of 
legend, a land of song, a land of hallowed and heroic 
memories. To that land every drop of my blood, every 
fiber of my being, every pulsation of my heart is conse- 
crated forever. I was born of her womb, I was nurtured 
at her breast, and when my last hour shall come I pray 
God I may be pillowed on her bosom and rocked to sleep 
within her tender and encircling arms." 

That prayer has been answered, and he sleeps well. 

[34] 



Address of Mr. Townsend, of Michigan 

Mr. President : One of my earliest memories of congres- 
sional life is that of Congressman John H. Bankhead. 
His strong features and distinguished personal appear- 
ance made him a marked figure, even to the stranger. 
His bearing was dignified and confident, and before he 
spoke he was recognized as an unusual man, for even the 
first impressions of him were that his dignity was native 
and not of art, and his look of confidence was but the 
record of victories in combats with the shams and errors 
of life. 

I soon came to know him personally and well, and dur- 
ing the remainder of my life, as I inventory the value of 
friendship, which is the greatest personal benefit which 
comes from congressional life, I shall put high estimate 
upon my memory of close friendship with Representative 
and Senator Bankhead. I learned that my first impres- 
sions were right and that the inner qualities of the man 
were more than faithful to their facial advertisements. 

I have served in the National Congress nearly 18 years. 
I do not know how many different men have been my 
colleagues during that period, but their number has been 
several thousand. Practically all of them have been far 
above the average of men in character and ability, and yet 
even now I find it is comparatively few of them that I 
remember well. Indeed, it is true that only a few really 
close, warm friendships are formed in Congress. Respect 
is general, but that heart relation which is unaffected by 
creed or politics, by wealth or poverty, by social position 
or selfish desires, that something, which for lack of better 
name we call true friendship, is all too uncommon. It is, 
however, the rarest and most precious jewel of congres- 
sional service. 

[35] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

The friendship of Senator Bankhead was genuine. He 
knew no deception. He was a shrewd legislator and most 
successful in the causes for which he contended, but he 
never employed the arts and intrigues of hypocrisy. His 
lips never said " I love you " when his heart was not in 
accord. He probably believed that the truth should not 
be spoken at all times, especially when it would produce 
unfruitful pain. But he never lied to accomplish an end. 
His word was frankly spoken and always passed at par 
among his colleagues. 

Since I have been in the Senate, and until death sepa- 
rated him from it, he and I were members of the Com- 
mittee on Post Offices and Post Roads. Some of the time 
he was chairman of it. Some of the time I was chairman. 
All of the time we worked in closest harmony. When he 
was absent he authorized me to vote him on all matters, 
and in a similar manner I trusted him when I was away. 
I believe I knew him and, knowing him, I believed in him. 

As a legislator he was well equipped with good judg- 
ment, rare insight, common sense, broad experience, and 
almost sublime courage. He was not spectacular, but he 
was honest and sound. I could, with profit to those who 
hear or read what I may say, recount his public achieve- 
ments, but they have already been told by others more 
eloquently and in detail. 

I like to think of him as a man without sham or pretense. 

He was proud of his family, which he loved with all the 
affection and devotion of a true husband and father. If 
my memory is not defective, I think that his death is the 
first break in his own family ties. His large and distin- 
guished family of children grew into useful manhood and 
beautiful womanhood. He saw and guided their growth 
and rejoiced in it, for every one was a credit and honor not 
only to the devoted father and mother but to the com- 
munity and State in which they grew and lived. One of 

[36] 



Address of Mr. Town send, of Michigan 

his beloved sons was an honored Member of the House of 
Representatives when the father died. Senator Bankhead 
felt that he had been unusually blessed. And so, indeed, 
he had been. Until he was stricken at last, sickness had 
been almost unknown to him and his loved ones. He and 
they lived in an all-pervading atmosphere of love and 
confidence. Such an atmosphere is conducive to health, 
happiness, and long life. 

About the last time I saw him he told me that he was in 
his seventy-eighth year. A ripe old age. And yet we did 
not think he was old, and he could have passed for much 
younger. He asked for no handicap in the race with his 
colleagues. Until the very last he faithfully and efficiently 
performed his duties, and we shall miss him. His State 
lost a faithful representative here; his country, at a time 
when it needs strong men, has lost one of its best Senators. 
If, however, a long life's record of great usefulness is 
worth while, his family and the Senate should take hope 
and comfort. 

Mr. President, the senior Senator from Washington [Mr. 
Jones], who was also a colleague in the House and Senate 
of the late Senator Bankhead, is on the program to speak 
to-day. He is unavoidably absent. He has, however, sent 
his remarks to me and asked me to read them. If I may 
have the permission of the Senate, I will now proceed 
to do so. 



[37] 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Washington 

Mr. President: The men who were the youth of 60 
years ago may seem out of date to-day. They may not 
grasp our problems in the progressive way that many 
of us think they should be undertaken. Their sterling 
character and Spartan devotion to what they believe in, 
however, are an inspiration to those who admire sin- 
cerity of purpose and unswerving loyalty to honest con- 
viction. These men of another generation grasped the 
fundamentals of life. They held to them and applied 
them to all the problems they met. The fundamental 
principles of human action are, after all, a pretty safe 
guide. They are as immutable as the stars, and the man 
who follows them will be right more often than he will 
be wrong. 

It was my good fortune to enter Congress when it had 
among its membership many of these men. They were 
men of strong character, marked ability, uncompromis- 
ing in their belief in the principles that control human 
action, and unsM^erving in their devotion to what they 
thought to be the fundamental principles of their Gov- 
ernment and the beliefs of the fathers of the Republic. 
Among these men was John H. Bankhead. He was 
not the great debater that many of them were, but in 
all else he was the peer of any. While making no pre- 
tensions to oratory or debating skill, he expressed him- 
self with rare conciseness and clarity. He was frank and 
open in all he did. When he came to a conclusion upon 
a matter there was no doubt as to his position. He knew 
what he wanted, and he sought to attain it by direct, open, 
fair, and honorable means. The rule of right was the 
sole guide to his acts. He had but little sympathy with 

[381 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Washington 

many of the so-called progressive doctrines of to-day, 
simply because they did not to his mind square with the 
principles in which he firmly believed. He was another 
great and good man whom many called a " standpatter " 
and a " reactionary." He was a " standpatter " in the 
sense that he stood firmly by his convictions and tried 
to carry them out without swerving. He was a " reac- 
tionaiy " in the sense that he applied what he believed 
to be the tried principles of experience to the problems 
of to-day. In his judgment the principles which the 
fathers applied to their problems were sufficient to meet 
our problems if honestly and fearlessly followed and if 
properly adapted to changed conditions. 

John H. Bankhead may have been mistaken in his 
judgment, but he did that which he thought was right 
and for the best interests of his State and his country. 
The same courage that led him to fight bravely on the 
battle field for the cause he believed to be right led him 
to stand unflinchingly for his convictions in the battles 
of peace. While a strong partisan, he did not hesitate to 
go against his party when it took a position contrary to 
the principles that controlled his actions. 
• The legislative career of John H. Bankhead was one of 
marked success. He did much for his State and country. 
He gave the most careful attention to every matter that 
was presented to him. He neglected no opportunity to 
serve his people. Their needs commanded all his energy 
and ability. The great problems of internal improvement 
and development had his special attention. He was an 
ardent and effective advocate of water transportation fa- 
cilities, both domestic and foreign. Good roads had no 
more earnest or efficient champion than he, and he lived 
to see much of his hopes realized in this direction. Water- 
power legislation had been pending for many years. He 
fully appreciated its importance. It had his special atten- 

[39] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

tion, and everything that he could do to promote its pas- 
sage he did. As chairman of a conference committee he 
did much to bring about an agreement on this legislation 
between the House and the Senate, but the report that was 
submitted was not adopted because of the close of Con- 
gress. The report which he had so much to do with secur- 
ing was largely the basis of action of the succeeding Con- 
gress. He did not live to see this legislation passed. It is 
now on the statute books and to his close study and earn- 
est efforts is largely due this great measure of a real, con- 
structive character. 

It is an inspiration to have known John H. Bankhead, to 
have acted with him in the work of important legislation, 
and to have counted him my friend. I am glad to pay this 
feeble tribute to his memory. Words are empty symbols, 
but his acts and deeds are living, vital things to move us 
to higher and better living. 



[40] 



Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 

Mr. President: I received the news of Senator Bank- 
head's death last spring with as much regret and heartfelt 
sorrow as I have ever experienced at the departure of a 
friend. As Members of the House and as Senators our 
legislative duties were along similar lines; the needs of his 
district and State and mine were somewhat the same; and 
our committee assignments for many years were identical. 
Like myself, he was a practical planter and loved the life 
of the farm. His vacations were always spent on his 
plantation overlooking the actual farm work and rusti- 
cating with old friends and admirers. In saying a few 
words in testimony of his high character and devoted 
public service, therefore, my thoughts are those of one 
who has seen in action the wonderful talent and unselJBsh 
industry which characterized the work of the deceased 
Senator. 

John Hollis Bankhead was born on his father's farm in 
Marion, now Lamar County, near the old town of Moscow, 
Ala., September 13, 1842. He was educated in the country 
schools of his native place, and at the outbreak of the 
War between the States cast his fortunes with the South. 
Young Bankhead enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth 
Alabama Infantry, served from the beginning until the end 
of the struggle, and was mustered out as a captain. Dur- 
ing the Battle of Chickamauga — one of the important 
battles of the Confederacy — Capt. Bankhead was severely 
wounded, but displayed unflinching courage and deter- 
mination by crawling from the field carrying on his back a 
disabled comrade. 

After the war Capt. Bankhead returned to his farm life. 
While a young man he was elected to the Alabama House 
of Representatives, then to the State senate, and later to 

[41] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

Congress, serving in the National House of Representatives 
from 1887 to 1907, a period of 20 years. In 1907 he was 
appointed to the Senate to succeed Senator John T. Morgan 
and was subsequently elected by the legislature. He was 
twice reelected by the people of Alabama to a seat in this 
body, and had served only a year of his last term when 
death overtook him. 

As a fellow member of the Committee on Rivers and 
Harbors of the House of Representatives, to which I was 
appointed in 1901, my friendship with the late Senator 
developed. He was as deeply interested in improving 
navigation on the Warrior River as I was in the allied 
problems of transportation and flood control on the Missis- 
sippi, and there was always the most cordial cooperation 
between us in helping to solve these very difficult ques- 
tions. This made a strong bond between us and brought 
me into the most friendly relations with the late Senator, 
whom I soon learned to admire and honor. He was not 
local or provincial in viewpoint and always took a broad 
national attitude in matters before Congress. The people 
of Alabama are greatly indebted to him for invaluable 
service in having the Warrior River made a navigable 
stream from the rich coal fields to Mobile Bay and for 
deepening Mobile Harbor. Alabama ought to be also 
truly grateful for his inestimable assistance in developing 
water power at Muscle Shoals, on the Tennessee River. 
In the Senate we served on the Commerce Committee 
together, and as a Senator his interest in the waterway 
problems of the country never lessened. 

Senator Bankhead was a pioneer in the good-roads 
movement; and the fact that the great transcontinental 
highway from this city to San Diego, Calif., was named in 
his honor testifies strongly to the incomparable service he 
rendered the Nation and the cause of adequate transpor- 
tation for our country's products. 

[42] 



Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 

In my relations with the distinguished Alabamian one of 
his outstanding traits of character was his absolute justice 
to all. He was a sincere man, and his associates always 
knew where he stood. No mere persuasion nor glamor of 
personal or political expediency could swerve this soldier- 
statesman from the path of principle. Honesty, political 
courage, and a scrupulous regard for fairness were the 
mainsprings of his very nature. He never tried to deceive 
and was always frank and open in expressing his convic- 
tions. He had wonderful stability of character and in- 
exorably followed the strict line of duty when it once 
became clear to him. 

Senator Bankhead was a very amiable and courteous 
man, always kind and considerate with others. During 
my association of 20 years with him I never knew the 
Senator to use a harsh word or do an unkind act. He was 
always humane in dealing with his fellowman; in fact, he 
had a deep appreciation of human nature, and to this may 
be largely attributed his great success in life. Yet, withal, 
he was a firm man, and stood fast to his ideals of right. 

The Senator was a most attentive Member of this body 
and oiie of its hardest workers. He was not a great orator, 
nor did he often address the Senate, but when he took the 
floor his speeches attracted close attention, as they always 
contained luminous facts in support of his arguments. 
His colleagues in the Senate regarded him as a sound, 
practical statesman, who had learned at first hand in the 
hard school of human experience to grapple with the prob- 
lems of life and solve them, and no Member of this body 
was held in higher esteem. Even in his later years he 
seldom absented himself from the sessions of the Senate, 
and was at his post of duty when the final summons came. 

The death of Senator Bankhead has left a niche in the 
public life of Alabama and the country difficult to fill. 
His name was associated with the wonderful progress and 

[43] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

attainments of his native State, and his great personality 
and splendid example ought to be a guiding star for the 
youth of Alabama, aye, for every boy in America. His 
beloved State, whose people loved him in life, v^^ill for- 
ever revere his memory, and his many friends in the 
Senate will look back on their associations with this noble 
American with pleasure and pride. Personally, I have 
lost a good friend; his family, a devoted father; and the 
Nation an able and faithful public servant. My heart goes 
out to his family in their sorrow, and my hope is that re- 
membrance of the Senator's splendid, upright character 
and remarkable achievements for State and Nation will 
in a measure help to assuage their grief. 



[44] 



Address of Mr. Shields, of Tennessee 

Mr. President: When I came to the United States Sen- 
ate, nearly eight years ago, my acquaintance was largely 
confined to those Senators from the States that bordered 
on Tennessee, and coming from the same section, with the 
same common interest, traditions, and aspirations, my 
closest association in this body was in the beginning nat- 
urally with them. 

What I have to say in regard to some of those great 
Senators is not to be understood as an invidious compari- 
son with Senators from other States and other sections, 
nor those who now occupy seats from the States I have 
mentioned. I would say much of what I am about to say 
of them, both living and dead. 

I speak only of the dead, of those who have answered 
their last roll call and now sleep in the soil of the great 
States whose people honored and trusted them to repre- 
sent them in this great legislative body. They were 
Thomas S. Martin, of Virginia; Augustus 0. Bacon, of 
Georgia; Joseph F. Johnson and John H. Bankhead, of 
Alabama; James P. Clarke, of Arkansas; William J. Stone, 
of Missouri; and W. O. Bradley and OUie M. James, of 
Kentucky — just one-half of the Senators representing 
those States in March, 1913. They all died in the dis- 
charge of the public duties confided to them by a loyal 
and trusting people and enjoying in the fullest measures 
the admiration and confidence of their constituencies. 

They were with one exception men of a generation gone 
by, few of which survive them. They were of that sturdy 
and indomitable stock who conquered the American 
wilderness, established homes, churches, and schools and 
constructed our incomparable Government, and made 

[45] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

America the greatest Nation of the world. They were men 
of different and varied types. There were among them 
planters, business men, soldiers, lawyers, jurists, and ora- 
tors, and each and all of them excelled and were great in 
their particular avocations and professions, adorning and 
contributing to the success, honor, and glory of them. 
They were constructive statesmen, and their States, their 
common country, and their Government are all better for 
their example and honorable public services. They were 
manly men, men of courage, men who walked erect and 
looked the sun in the face without a tremor. They were 
men of convictions, with the courage and ability to defend 
and maintain them. They knew no master and acknowl- 
edged no superior save their God. They were sun- 
crowned American citizens, the highest eulogy which can 
be conferred on any man. It is no wonder that I admired 
these splendid citizens and statesmen and delighted in 
their society and friendship. 

Mr. President, recalling the character and services of 
these illustrious Senators causes emotions of sadness and 
regret that they are no longer here and that their places 
know them no more, but it is useful for us to do so. It 
is not only a solace and a stimulus, but it is an inspiration 
to those who follow them to emulate their great services, 
their rectitude of purpose, their patriotism, and their 
devotion to their people and to their country. This is 
all we can do, for — 

The good knights are dust, 

Their swords are rust, 

And their souls with the saints, we trust. 

Mr. President, we are met here to-day to commemorate 
the life, character, and public services and to do honor 
to the memory of one of this distinguished group of 
Senators, the peer of any of them, the Hon. John H. 

Bankhead. 

[46] 



Address of Mr. Shields, of Tennessee 

I will not speak of his early days, nor attempt to give 
any biographical sketch of him, nor will I recount all 
the places of public trust that he held in his State and 
the Federal service. That has been done by other lov- 
ing and admiring friends who knew him better and are 
proud of his friendship and association and of the honors 
he has conferred upon their great State. When I became 
a Member of the Senate, circumstances and common 
interest threw me much with him, and I had ample 
opportunity to judge of his character as a man and his 
abilities as a Senator. I soon formed a high estimate 
of him in every respect, and the longer I knew him 
and the closer I got to him the greater was my admira- 
tion and respect and the stronger my affection for 
him. I would not undertake to recall the many kind- 
nesses I received at his hands or the great assistance he 
gave me in the early days of my service here. I have 
no words to describe my affectionate regard for him and 
my deep and sincere sense of loss when he was gone. 
The loss of friends whom we loved and esteemed is 
something akin to the loss of those who are close to us 
by the ties of blood and family relations, which we feel 
a reluctance to speak of. They are the innermost and 
most sacred emotions of the heart and soul and can not be 
fittingly described in words. They are too sacred to be 
confided to others. 

Senator Bankhead was one of those men whom nature 
endowed and made superior in many things that go to 
make up a successful life and a leader of men. Success 
marked all his relations, associations, and efforts in life. 
He was fortunate and happy in his marriage and in the 
affection and assistance of an estimable and lovable wife, 
who survives him. He was happy in living to see his 
children emerge from childhood and youth and become 
valued members of society, and especially in seeing his 

[47] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

sons, of whom he was justly proud, occupy prominent 
positions in the forefront of their professions, possessing 
the fullest confidence and admiration of their friends and 
fellow citizens. I have often thought there was no greater 
happiness that could come to a father and mother in 
their declining years, or which would enable them to 
meet the end, which all mortals must contemplate with 
more resignation and composure, than the realization of 
fond hopes of this character. He was happy in acquir- 
ing and holding through a long and sometimes tempes- 
tuous public career in which great problems were met 
and solved the love and confidence of the people of a 
great State. He had the consciousness of having dis- 
charged his duty in every trust confided to him faith- 
fully, honestly, and with self-sacrificing devotion. This 
must have added much to the peace and tranquillity 
which seemed to possess him when his soul, without 
a struggle, passed away and entered into the great 
beyond. 

He was strong physically, mentally, and morally, and 
his great courage, indomitable determination to do what 
he believed was right gave him force and a power to 
accomplish with an unusual measure of success every 
undertaking to which he devoted himself. 

Alabama has produced many strong, able, and patri- 
otic men, and those whom Senator Bankhead came in 
contact with in his many civic and political struggles 
were no exception to the rule. A mere statement of 
the honors conferred upon him by the people of that 
State, and the high offices he was chosen to fill, con- 
clusively establishes the assertion of his friends of his 
integrity, ability, and the faithful discharge of duty and 
of his right to be called a leader of men, for no man not 
possessing all of these qualities in an eminent degree 
could have won the victories that came to him or acquired 

[48] 



Address of Mr. Shields, of Tennessee 

and retained the confidence of the people of that great 
State. 

He loved his State and his section and was proud of and 
loyal to his country and his Government. When yet a 
youth, believing firmly in the righteousness of the cause of 
the South, he volunteered as private in the Confederate 
Army and made a brave soldier, serving throughout that 
great struggle, winning promotions to that of a captaincy 
for gallantry in action. And when that sacred cause was 
lost and the banner with the cross of St. Andrew was furled, 
furled in sadness and in defeat but without dishonor or 
the semblance thereof, he accepted the inevitable result 
and returned to his allegiance to the Union, and from then 
on the Stars and Stripes was his flag and the United States 
was his Government, and it never had a more loyal and 
devoted adherent. 

Senator Bankhead was a firm believer in the Christian 
religion and held the church and all that it teaches and 
inculcates with that high respect which is the duty of all 
men and so necessary an element in the good citizen and 
the public servant. He never thrust his views of such 
matters upon others, but when occasion required in such 
remarks as he made upon the subject his firmness, sin- 
cerity, and faith were evident and unmistakable. 

While a cordial and loyal friend when once that rela- 
tion was established, he did not form friendships readily 
or without first coming to decisive conclusions as to the 
character and the worth of men. He estimated their 
merits or demerits with care and formed his conclusions 
with deliberation, but when he believed a man was worthy 
of his friendship his attachment was strong and his friend- 
ship loyal to the utmost degree. He had the confidence of 
his fellow Senators and they all respected him for his 
rugged integrity, his fairness and courtesy, and devotion 
to duty. 

46667—21 i [49] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

He was not a man of words, but rather of action. He 
was not an orator, but had a clear conception of what he 
wanted to say and present for the consideration of his 
audience, and he stated it concisely and in simple words 
with such clearness and force that those whom he ad- 
dressed always understood him and were often convinced 
of the soundness of his views. 

He did not speak often and addressed the Senate only 
when he had a purpose to accomplish. His forte and the 
secret of his success was his extraordinary common sense 
and the ability to apply it in a practical manner to the 
situation or the problem that confronted him. His judg- 
ment was as honest as it was sound. He had a grasp of 
business propositions and he brought his experience to 
bear on all legislation which affected the economic interest 
of the country. 

His greatest services in the Senate were in the com- 
mittee room, where, after all, the most effective work is 
done in the promotion and perfecting of wise legislation. 
The discussion of bills and policies in committees and the 
free exchange of opinions there bring out the merits or 
demerits of the measure in hand in a manner which can 
not be done in the open debate of the Senate. Those in- 
formal discussions call for a more complete knowledge of 
the subject in hand and more ability in presenting the 
merits of the measure and meeting the objections to it 
than the preparation and delivery of formal addresses in 
this Chamber. Were it not for the careful and laborious 
work of committees it is impossible to say how much un- 
wise legislation would reach the statute books. 

Senator Bankhead attended the meetings of his com- 
mittees with great regularity and gave careful attention to 
all bills considered by them, and his views concerning 
them were always pertinent and valuable and aided much 
toward clearing up errors and perfecting legislation. 

[50] 



Address of Mr. Shields, of Tennessee 

He was especially interested and gave great attention 
as a member of the Committee on Commerce to the de- 
velopment and improvement of the waterways of the 
country. His services to his own State along these lines 
were marked and valuable, but his interest extended to 
all the waterways of the Nation, for he was broad and 
liberal in his policies and efforts to develop the interest 
of the entire country. He was deeply interested in public 
highways, and accomplished more in developing a na- 
tional system of improved highways than any other man 
who has been in the Senate for many years. He took great 
interest in our Postal System and did much to improve 
its economical administration and efficiency. He was 
deeply interested in agriculture and educational matters, 
and did splendid work in promoting legislation for the 
advancement of their interest. 

He had a great reverence for the Constitution of the 
fathers and opposed all insidious efforts to undermine 
and violate its beneficent provisions. While not a lawyer, 
he thoroughly understood the great and underlying prin- 
ciples of our Government, and he lived up to his concep- 
tions of them, consistently and fearlessly. He believed 
that the National Government was created by the States 
and had no powers but those that the States had delegated 
to it, but, in the exercise of these powers, it was absolute. 
He believed that the Federal Government should be con- 
fined to the powers so expressly vested and those neces- 
sarily implied for their full and efficient exercise, but he 
at all times upheld the reserved rights and powers of the 
States and firmly resisted all encroachments upon them, 
believing in the sovereignty of the States in all local 
matters. He firmly believed and had faith in the great 
fundamental policies of his partj'^ and was ever ready to 
defend and maintain them. He never followed false gods 
or wild and impracticable heresies which have from time 

[51] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

to time disturbed and afflicted our country, regardless of 
the temporary advantage which they seem to give, or the 
attractiveness or special benefits to be derived from them, 
and had an unutterable contempt for the timeserver and 
the opportunist. May we have more men of his courage, 
faith, and firmness ! Those who would bend his bow must 
gird their loins for unusual strength, and look aloft for 
faith and inspiration. 



[52] 



Address of Mr. Pomerene, of Ohio 

Mr. President: These splendid eulogies to this splendid 
man make us all feel as if we were in the presence of a 
hallowed spirit and we are. No finer tributes have ever 
been paid to a deceased Member of the Senate, and none 
have been more deserved. 

It is always difficult to speak of a dead friend. When I 
first entered the Senate I was one of its youngest Mem- 
bers; Senator Bankhead one of its oldest. He was one of 
the Members to whom I was attracted. Of course, I had 
known of his public services. I felt for him almost the 
affection of a son for a father. He was my friend; I was 
his. We did not always agree, but differences of opinion 
did not lessen my ardent admiration for his fine qualities. 
He was big of body, big of heart,^big of mind. He was 
always well poised. He never flew off at a tangent. He 
did not depend upon the judgment of others when decid- 
ing what to say or how to vote. He was his own master. 

In this day and generation there is so little of charity for 
those who entertain differing opinions that it is sometimes 
hard to get a just estimate of one's moral or mental make- 
up. To illustrate, some men affect to believe that anyone 
who adheres to the firmly established principles of democ- 
racy is a conservative if not a reactionary. Others do not 
hesitate to assert that anyone who looks forward to the 
further development of fundamental principles is a radi- 
cal. Both are wrong. If I may assume to characterize 
our late friend, I would say of him that he was progres- 
sive without being radical and conservative without being 
reactionary. He was never ready to reject the established 
principles of our Government simply because they were 
old, or to accept as true strange doctrines simply because 

[53] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

they were new. His feet were always on the ground; his 
head never above the clouds. 

What a splendid heritage he has left to his family, his 
friends, his State, and his country. His life of almost four- 
score years was full of activity and service. He was the 
last of the distinguished Confederate soldiers to serve in 
the Senate. He cast his lot with his State during the Civil 
War, but when the war was over and the States were re- 
united no one dared question his loyalty to the Stars and 
Stripes. Thrice was he wounded while in the Confederate 
service. 

His people loved to honor him. He represented Marion 
County in the general assembly of the State during the ses- 
sions of 1865, 1866, and 1867. He was a member of the 
State senate in 1876 and 1877. He was elected to the 
House of Representatives during the Fiftieth Congress and 
reelected 10 successive times. His service in the United 
States Senate began in 1907 and continued uninterrupted 
until the day of his death. During all of this time he was 
one of the real Congressmen and one of the real Senators 
who always " the path of duty trod." It is no small com- 
pliment to be elected by a constituency to the House of 
Representatives for 10 consecutive times, and then to be 
transferred to the United States Senate and reelected for 
three consecutive times. Such honors come to but few 
men; and no man can receive them who is not indeed 
worthy. 

The path to public favor is not a royal road. No man 
can enter it and maintain himself who bends to every 
breeze that blows. No matter what our friend's views 
may have been, whether we agreed with them or not, we 
had to respect them as the views of the honest public 
servant. He served his immediate constituency well, but 
he served the whole country none the less. His services 
were not sectional, they were Nation wide. 

[54] 



Address of Mr. Pomerene, of Ohio 



He sought to serve his people, but he never surrendered 
his conscientious convictions. His conclusions were not 
reached by putting his ear to the ground to ascertain how 
many votes he would win or lose by a given course; they 
were the result of investigation and of reflection. 

Senator Bankhead always had the courage of his con- 
victions. He thought what he said and said what he 
thought, and by this manly course won and kept the confi- 
dence of his constituents and of his fellow citizens, whether 
North or South, East or West. 

Others have spoken more in detail of his splendid serv- 
ices in the Senate. I shall not attempt to repeat them. 
He was not given to much speaking, but when he did speak 
it was out of the fullness of his heart, and with his thoughts 
fully matured. Much of our best legislation is in part his 
handiwork. 

His death is a distinct loss to this Chamber, to his State, 
and to the Nation. Peace to his ashes ! 



[55] 



Address of Mr. Dial, of South Carolina 

Mr. President: On March 1, 1920, John Hollis Bank- 
head, citizen, soldier, patriot, and friend, and an honored 
Member of this body, knocked gently upon the door that 
leads into that mysterious realm beyond, and entered. 
The soul of Alabama's distinguished son had taken its 
flight from the mortal highway of life to the celestial high- 
way leading to " the undiscovered country from whose 
bourne no traveler returns." 

Though serving in both Houses of Congress for many 
years with honor and distinction, it is not of such service 
that I desire to speak to-day in the time allotted to me 
as much as it is to recall the inany pleasing incidents that 
came to my knowledge concerning the life and character 
of Senator Bankhead and to touch upon a few of the 
special features which attracted me to him as we together 
passed along the highway of life. I shall therefore leave 
the record in Congress, or at least much of it, for others 
to dwell upon. I may say that his record has been made 
up and the book of life sealed until eternity. 

It was in 1893 that I first met the late Senator from 
Alabama, at which time he was serving as a Member of the 
House, and it is with great pleasure that I may truthfully 
say that during all of these years our relations have been 
pleasant and cordial. 

I will therefore not attempt to follow the entire con- 
gressional career of our late colleague, for that would be 
useless. What he strived for and what he accomplished 
in both Houses of Congress need but little exploitation at 
the hands of those who knew him and of his public and 
private record. 

[56] 



Address of Mr. Dial, of South Carolina 

Born in the South and of the South in all that the word 
implies, Senator Bankhead, while believing firmly in the 
principles of the Government of the United States, an- 
swered the call to arms when his section went to war. He 
shouldered his musket, a young boy, and marched to the 
front, ready with the call of the early morning reveille to 
fight for his beloved Confederacy. And I may say, there 
was none stronger in his convictions, braver or more 
courageous or daring in the face of a hostile enemy, or 
more loyal to the South and all its traditions than he. 
During the years from 1861 to 1865 he was found always 
at the front and never in the rear. That was his position 
on every question that confronted him in life — leading the 
fight for what he thought was right. 

I came to this body as a new Member in 1918, but even 
before this I had found that throughout the whole country 
there was deep interest in the Bankhead Highway, a mag- 
nificent roadway that would connect the great city of 
Washington with the smaller cities and towns of the South 
and West, as far as San Diego, Calif., the plan of such high- 
way being the product of the Alabamian's brain. He saw 
into the future and realized that better roads mean 
quicker transportation, saving of loss of time in transit, 
larger loads of various commodities going from one sec- 
tion to another, and the use of the auto truck to supplant 
the slow-moving farm horse or mule, meaning, in a word, 
an enlightened movement in favor of production, trans- 
portation, and selling problems of farm produce. There 
is also the greater problem of quicker transportation be- 
tween town and country home, linking the two in many 
material ways. Senator Bankhead conceived wisely when 
he began the great work of planning and seeing the con- 
struction of this great highway, and in the years to come 
it will be a monument to his great genius. 



[57] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

Let me say that when I came to Washington to take my 
seat as a Member of this body I traveled with my family 
from my home in South Carolina in an automobile along 
this very Bankhead Highway, and as I left mile after mile 
behind me I realized more and more what this great 
undertaking would mean in the years to come. 

As a Member on this side of the Senate Chamber with 
Senator Bankhead and as a fellow member of the Com- 
mittee on Post Offices, it was my pleasure to coine in fre- 
quent contact with him and to watch the workings of his 
head and heart. I saw his work from day to day, and I 
saw him stand firm always for justice and right. Though 
of a quiet nature, speaking but seldom on the floor of this 
Chamber, and then not in the fashion of the forensic ora- 
tor to catch the plaudits of the listening crowd, but in an 
earnest, sincere way, he was firm in his convictions when 
convinced that his proper line of action lay along a certain 
definite course. 

I served with Senator Bankhead from the date of my en- 
trance in this body until the time of his death, and there 
was none who more genuinely and sincerely felt the great 
loss at his taking away than I. 

In all the years that I had the privilege of enjoying the 
friendship of the Alabama Senator I found him to be a 
man in every way. Indeed — 

He was a man, take him for all in all, 
I shall not look upon his like again. 

I wish to say a word concerning the South Carolina con- 
nections of the late Senator. 

Mrs. Bankhead, his good wife, was a South Carolinian, 
her maiden name being Brockton, from Spartanburg 
County, the county next adjoining the one in which I live. 
She was closely related to many of the best people in that 
section. Among those of close kinship were the Moores, 

[58] 



Address of Mr. Dial, of South Carolina 

the Andersons, and others — all people of the very best 
standing in Spartanburg County. They are the pioneers in 
old Nazareth Presbyterian Church, a landmark for all 
that is good in religious life in that section of the county. 

In addition to this the father of the late Senator, James 
Greer Bankhead, was a native of the old Union, S. C, dis- 
trict, settling in Alabama in 1818 and residing there until 
his death in 1861. Mrs. Susan Hollis, mother of the late 
Senator, was also born in the Darlington district of South 
Carolina, moving from that section with her parents to 
Alabama in 1822. These people have always been the 
leaders in all that is good and true and have led in the 
religious life and moral upbuilding in that part of South 
Carolina. I may say that the Moores, the Andersons, the 
Clevelands, the Barrys, and others of the Nazareth Church 
section of Spartanburg County are leaving a generation 
which is in every way maintaining the high standard set 
by those who have already traveled the roadway of life 
and now sleep. Mrs. Bankhead was of these. 

There was also another strong tie linking me to the 
Alabama Senator and which brought South Carolina and 
Alabama close together. The Hon. W. H. Perry, for many 
years a Representative in the House from my State and 
district, married one of Senator Bankhead's daughters, 
his father having been governor of South Carolina some 
years ago. 

When the earthly work of our late colleague was done I 
had the honor of being made a member of the Senate 
party which attended his funeral in the little town of Jas- 
per, Ala. I well remember the large and sympathetic 
crowd which had gathered from every part of the State to 
pay their last respects to their friend and statesman. The 
torrential rains which occurred at that time caused the 
funeral to be postponed. This gave me the opportunity of 
observing the beautiful floral tributes which had been 

[59] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

brought to the church, and also the church itself, and I 
may say of the latter that I was surprised that so small a 
town could have so large and costly a structure, but it was 
typical of the deep religious sentiment which prevails in 
that section. These floral offerings attested in the most 
sympathetic manner the deep affection in which our late 
colleague was held by all alike. Those who attended the 
funeral were from every walk, including high State and 
Federal officials, farmers, business men, and others, all 
alike testifying by their presence their deep affection for 
their departed friend. 

The funeral services were conducted by a lifelong friend 
of Senator Bankhead — Rev. James T. Morris, of the 
Methodist Church. Both he and the Senator were Con- 
federate soldiers, and the venerable pastor spoke most 
feelingly of the long, cordial, and close relationship which 
had existed between them. 

I remember also that about two years ago I was visiting 
in Montgomery, Ala., and was most hospitably shown over 
the capitol building in that city by a son-in-law of the late 
Senator, Mr. Thomas M. Owen, who was the custodian of 
archives and history, and who held a position of great re- 
spect, admiration, and honor among his home people. I 
was greatly interested in the many interesting things he 
showed me, and I shall always deeply appreciate his 
courtesy. Since that time I understand he, too, has passed 
over the river of life, and that his good wife has succeeded 
him in his work. It will thus be seen that Senator Bank- 
head in all of his connections and relations stood well to 
the front in everything that was worth while. 

In conclusion I wish to say that Senator Bankhead, 
while holding strongly to his own views and opinions, was 
broad-minded and tolerant of the opinions of others. He 
loved peace above everything. He was willing to fight, 
and did fight when it was necessary, but was a firm be- 

[60] 



Address of Mr. Dial, of South Carolina 

liever in the pursuit of peaceful methods and kindly acts 
as opposed to open warfare. This kindly and big-hearted 
friend has left us. 

He went, " not like the quarry slave, at night, scourged 
to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed by an unfalter- 
ing trust, approached his grave like one who wraps the 
drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant 
dreams." 

And here I wish to say that just as our late friend and 
colleague planned a mortal highway — a highway upon 
which human feet might tread — there was likewise 
planned for him another highway over which he has now 
passed into that everlasting spirit world of the unknow- 
able beyond. 

After a life full of good works, a life full of love and 
kindness for family and friends, of justice and equity to 
his fellow man, and a divine reverence for God, tired with 
the burdens of life, but still ready to carry his burdens, 
God touched him and he slept. 

Finally, we are reminded that — 

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 

Await alike the inevitable hour — 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 



[61] 



Address of Mr. McKellar, of Tennessee 

Mr. President: Senator Bankhead and I were warm 
friends for more than 30 years — ever since I was a boy. 
I was in college with two of his sons and learned to know 
him well then, and he always treated me as if I was one 
of his boys, and frequently spoke of me in that affec- 
tionate way. When I came to the House he was one of 
the first to congratulate me, and was my friend and ad- 
viser while there. Later on, when I became a candidate 
for the Senate, in many ways he again demonstrated his 
friendship for me. After I was elected to this body he 
requested that I serve on the Committee on Post Offices 
and Post Roads, of which he was chairman, and through- 
out the long years of our friendship, many of thepi close 
and intimate, I do not recall that there was ever a dif- 
ference between us. He was at all times a safe adviser, 
and I turned to him often. As a friend he never hesi- 
tated or halted. He was ever ready to stand up four 
square. My association with him I shall never forget. 
His many acts of kindness toward me will ever live in 
my memory. It is a pity that a man like he was should 
have to die. He was the salt of the earth. 

One of the most beautiful attributes of his character 
was shown in his home life. I do not know that I ever 
knew a man who adored his family as did Senator 
Bankhead. His high-minded and delightful wife, his 
attractive daughters, his splendid boys, and his lovely 
grandchildren, each and every one of them were objects 
of almost his worship, and they adored him in the same 
way. It was an inspiration to visit in his home. His 
pride, while always modestly expressed, about his boys, 
all of whom have been wonderfully successful, literally 

[62] 



Address of Mr. McKellar, of Tennessee 

knew no bounds. I never knew a happier family. I 
never knew a finer father, liusband, or friend. 

In the War between the States, Senator Bankhead 
entered into tlie Confederate service as a boy, and took 
an honorable, a courageous, and a conspicuous part, and 
came out a captain. When the war was over he accepted 
defeat like the man he was and gave unlimited allegiance 
and devotion to the flag of our common country. He 
never wavered in that devotion. He was at all times the 
highest and best type of the American citizen. He was 
patriotic to the highest limit, but always without show or 
parade. 

In politics. Senator Bankhead was almost without ex- 
ception successful. He was successful because he de- 
served success. He was successful because he was a 
fighter. He was successful because he was a man of the 
highest principles, because there was nothing little or 
mean about him. He was a man of big body, big heart, 
big brain, and big soul. In his earlier days especially 
he was a campaigner of great ability. He was an excel- 
lent speaker and most diplomatic and engaging. He at 
all times had a wonderfully pleasing personality that at 
once drew men toward him. He knew human nature as 
did few men. I recall an incident in one of his cam- 
paigns for Congress. In one of the counties of his dis- 
trict lived a very excellent and well-to-do farmer who 
was quite powerful in politics. For some reason this 
farmer was very much opposed to the nomination of 
Mr. Bankhead, and Mr. Bankhead tried in every way he 
could to reach him, but without effect. One hot day in 
June he was riding by this farmer's home, and he saw 
the farmer plowing out in the field, so he got out of his 
buggy and went to the end of the row and waited for 
the farmer to get back. When he did so Mr. Bankhead 
told him he wanted to talk to him about politics. The 

[63] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

old farmer was testy and said he did not want to hear 
anything about politics. He said he did not have time to 
talk, that he wanted to plow that cotton. Mr. Bankhead 
said, " Hand me that plow." He took the plow and the 
reins, turned the mule around and started to sweep up 
the cotton, saying to the old farmer, " Now, you walk 
along the middle of the row with me and let me explain 
this matter to you, while I plow." The farmer walked 
with him about two rows and said, "All right, any poli- 
tician that can plow cotton like you can have my vote," 
and he voted for and supported him as long as he lived. 
This is but illustrative of his fixedness of purpose and his 
knowledge of human nature, as well as savoir faire under 
any and all circumstances. 

So far as I know the only time he was ever defeated 
in any political contest was when he was defeated for 
Congress in 1906, after 20 years of splendid service in 
the House. Later on in the same year he was nominated 
as an alternate Senator from Alabama, and in June, 1907, 
Senator Morgan having died, was appointed Senator by 
reason of his majority vote in the primary for alternate 
Senator, so that his defeat for the House resulted hap- 
pily in his coming to the Senate. This method of select- 
ing Senators was quite unusual, and the only time I have 
ever known of its being emploj^ed. The facts were that 
Senators Morgan and Pettus, of Alabama, were very old 
men, and the State Democratic executive committee con- 
cluded that as either one of these Senators might sud- 
denly die, it would be wise to let the people in a primary 
select their successors while they were yet alive. 

An interesting thing happened between Senator Bank- 
head and myself in reference to this race for alternate 
Senator. In the spring of 1906 I was passing through Bir- 
mingham on my way to attend the commencement exer- 
cises of the University of Alabama. I happened to meet 

[64] 



Address of Mr. McKellar, of Tennessee 

Senator Bankhead at the Morris Hotel. Only a short time 
before he had been defeated for Congress. I had read in 
the newspapers about the primary for alternate Senators, 
and I urged Senator Bankhead to make the race. He ex- 
pressed great doubt about his ability to win. He seemed 
to think that because he had been defeated for Congress 
he did not have much show for an alternate senatorship. 
I told him that I believed the fact that he had been de- 
feated, taken in connection with his record in Congress, 
would make the people of Alabama feel all the more 
kindly toward him. He went on down to the university 
commencement with me and while there held a meeting 
of his friends and announced his candidacy and won by 
a majority over all. He often afterwards told me that I 
had decided him to run. If so, I did the country a great 
service, as the Government never had a better or a more 
faithful or a more intelligent public servant. 

Counting his service in both Houses Senator Bankhead 
was in Congress more than 32 years. His record in both 
Houses was one of great service to his State and to the 
Nation. He did more for the waterways of Alabama and 
those of the rest of the country, perhaps, than any other 
man. It was his service on the Rivers and Harbors Com- 
mittee that gave him his first national fame. His work on 
water-power legislation added to that fame. In the Sen- 
ate his great work was on the passage of laws giving Fed- 
eral aid to road building. As chairman of the Post Ofiices 
and Post Roads Committee, he did more than any other 
one man to bring about the passage of the laws that we 
now have on the statute books by which the National Gov- 
ernment is cooperating with the various States to build 
up a splendid system of roads throughout the country. 
One of these great highways bears his name. As chair- 
man of the Post Office Committee, he was always fair and 
just, a stickler for the rights of the Government, and yet 

46667—21 5 [65] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

always liberal, and even generous, to the employees in the 
service. He took great pride in the Postal Service, and its 
remarkable growth in the last few years was in a great 
measure due to his careful supervision as chairman of the 
Post Office Committee and to the excellent legislation that 
he fathered. 

Mr. President, we all, I am sure, recalled with the keen- 
est pleasure his many delightful personal and social 
qualities. He had few enemies, none in this body, I be- 
lieve. His friends were legion. He was courteous and fair 
and just to all, a man of great poise of character, with 
high ideals, honorable ambitions, fixed purposes, and as 
kind a heart as ever beat in a human being. He was an 
honor to his State and the Nation. In his life I honored 
and respected him, esteemed and loved him. In his death 
I felt, and still feel, the keenest sense of personal loss. 
His kindliness, his gentleness, his patient consideration of 
the rights and views of others, his rare and delightful per- 
sonality, his genial disposition, his honest and straight- 
forward ways, all endeared him to me and I believe to 
every Member of this body. 



[66] 



Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama 

Mr. President : The touching and tender words of com- 
mendation and praise by those who have served long with 
him in this body constitute the best proof of Senator Bank- 
head's high standing and popularity with his colleagues. 

My colleague, Senator Underwood, in his splendid 
speech has presented the important facts and events in 
the public career of Senator Bankhead, and I shall not 
undertake to repeat or discuss them in detail. 

Every man who conquers his surroundings and rises su- 
perior to the forces that oppose him is not only a helpful 
example to the struggling youths of the country, but he is 
entitled to a prominent place on the scroll of those who 
achieve success, for after all only those who merit success 
should have their names listed in the catalogue of the 
great. Circumstances and peculiar conditions seem at 
times to thrust some men into the forefront of financial 
success or political prominence and power, and it fre- 
quently happens that we are unable to understand just 
why such a one was so favored by fortune. But, Mr. 
President, the man whose memory we honor to-day does 
not belong to that class. 

In the field of stubborn conflict he earned every honor 
that came to him. He was in the true meaning of the term 
" a self-made man." I have always felt that that term was 
intended to tell the story of one who had known hard- 
ships and privations — one who had battled with adverse 
conditions and in spite of them had achieved success. 

Senator Bankhead as a boy was one of these. In 1860 
when the War between the States arrayed the people of 
the North and the people of the South on opposing sides 
John Hollis Bankhead took his place as a private in the 

[67] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

ranks of the Confederate Army. He was three times 
wounded in battle. He participated in the settlement of 
the gravest and most momentous question that ever 
affected the national life of the country. In that conflict 
the indisputable status of the Union was finally and for- 
ever fixed. He lived to see the mingled blood of brothers 
North and South cement the sections in the bonds of an 
everlasting union. When the war was over he, like all of 
his surviving comrades, accepted in good faith the settle- 
ment of the sword, and from that time on to the day of 
his death he contributed to the upbuilding, advancement, 
and perpetuity of the American Union. At the end of the 
war he returned to his State and devoted himself bravely 
to the task of aiding and encouraging his people in restor- 
ing stable government under control of the white men of 
Alabama. 

Mr. President, Senator Bankhead believed in the gospel 
of work and was himself an indefatigable worker. He 
entered the field of politics when a very young man. He 
was well trained for service in the Senate of the United 
States when selected by the people of Alabama to repre- 
sent them in this body. He had served in both branches 
of the Alabama Legislature and before his election to a 
seat in this Chamber had been honored and in return had 
honored his constituents with 20 years of faithful service 
in the lower House of Congress. In his long journey up 
the road of years he was in a hand's reach of the seventy- 
ninth milepost when the death angel called him away. 
It must have been comforting to him to feel as he was 
passing off the stage of action that the record he had left 
behind was one of valuable service to his country. 

In view of what has been said by those who have pre- 
ceded me, I shall refer to only two great measures with 
which he was so intimately and signally associated. He 
was the prime mover in the matter of arousing the Ameri- 

[68] 



Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama 



can people to the importance and necessity of entering 
upon a program of general road building in the United 
States, and he richly deserved the title of " father of the 
good-roads plan of America." 

Mr. President, his achievement in opening the Warrior 
River to navigation and his constructive work on rivers 
and harbors in the State have linked his name for all time 
with waterway improvement in Alabama. His great 
achievements were due to his untiring energy, his great 
ability, and large experience, acquired through more than 
30 years of legislative activities in the two branches of 
Congress. 

Mr. President, Senator Bankhead left behind him a 
record of constructive work and practical achievement 
rarely equaled by any public servant of his day. All in 
all he was a remarkable character and had become an 
important and powerful factor in the affairs of his State 
and Nation. When the sad news of his death reached the 
people of Alabama there was sadness in every household, 
and when the beautiful casket that bore his mortal remains 
back to his home in Alabama arrived at Jasper people 
from all over the State had already assembled there to 
pay to him they esteemed so highly the tribute of their 
love. The floral offerings, which were exquisitely beauti- 
ful, of large variety, and in great abundance, were tender 
tokens and testimonials of a fond people's sorrow and 
love. 

Mr. President, Senator Bankhead was a Christian pa- 
triot and he was a wise and useful statesman. He was a 
tender and devoted husband, a fond and affectionate 
father. When he succeeded Senator Morgan in this body, 
in speaking of the deceased Senator's home life he gave a 
splendid description of himself when he said : " Senator 
Morgan's affectionate solicitude for the happiness of his 
household was beautiful in its tenderness." 



[69] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

Mr. President, his devoted, bright, cheerful, and lovely 
wife was the queen of his heart and home. She was the 
inspiriting power and good angel that supported him 
through all the trials and vicissitudes of his long and use- 
ful career. 

In the death of Senator Bankhead Alabama has lost one 
of her most distinguished and best-beloved citizens and 
the State and Nation have lost a big, brave, able, and 
faithful representative in the Senate of the United States. 

The Vice President. Without objection, the resolutions 
submitted by the senior Senator from Alabama [Mr. Un- 
derwood] at the beginning of these exercises are unani- 
mously adopted. 

Mr. Heflin. Mr. President, as a further mark of respect 
to the memory of the deceased Senator, I move that the 
Senate do now adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 2 
o'clock and 30 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
to-morrow, Friday, December 10, 1920, at 12 o'clock 
meridian. 



[70] 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 



Monday, March 1, 1920. 

Mr. Heflin. Mr. Speaker, it becomes my sad duty to an- 
nounce to the House the death of Hon. John H. Bankhead, 
the senior Senator from Alabama. At a future day I shall 
ask the House to set apart a day for the purpose of paying 
tribute to the life and public service of Senator Bankhead. 
I move the adoption of the resolutions which I send to the 
Clerk's desk. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. John Hollis Bankhead, a Senator of the United 
States from the State of Alabama. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased 
Senator. 

Resolved, That a committee of 18 Members be appointed on the 
part of the House to join the committee appointed on the part of 
the Senate to attend the funeral. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the House do now 
adjourn. 

The resolutions were agreed to. 

Accordingly (at 3 o'clock and 43 minutes p. m.) the 
House adjourned until to-morrow, Tuesday, March 2, 1920, 
at 12 o'clock noon. 

Tuesday, March 2, 1920. 
The House met at 12 o'clock noon. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered 
the following prayer : 

Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for the gift of life 
with its precious hopes and promises; the old world in 

[71] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

which Thou hast placed us, as sojourners, with its splen- 
did opportunities to develop all that is best in us; the sun 
which shines by day; the stars which shine by night; the 
change of seasons, seedtime and harvest; its fertile soil 
which yields abundantly to the husbandmen; its rich 
deposits which meet all the necessities of life; home with 
its joys, society, government, educational institutions, 
churches, and philanthropic organizations. 

The tenure of this life is brief and we are called upon 
to work while it is yet day, for the night cometh when no 
man can work. 

Death has once more entered the congressional family 
and taken away the veteran Member of the upper House. 
Comfort his family, numerous friends, in Thine own way, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The Speaker appointed the following committee to at- 
tend the funeral of the late Senator Bankhead : 

Mr. Heflin, Mr. Dent, Mr. Blackmon, Mr. Almon, Mr. 
Oliver, Mr. Bankhead, Mr. Huddleston, Mr. Steagall, Mr. 
McDuffie, Mr. Rainey of Alabama, Mr. Mann of Illinois, 
Mr. Towner, Mr. Steenerson, Mr. Moon, Mr. Humphreys, 
Mr. McClintic, Mr. Candler, and Mr. Wingo. 

A message from the Senate, by Mr. Crockett, one of 
its clerks, announced that the Senate had passed the 
following resolution: 

Senate resolution 316 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep regret and pro- 
found sorrow the announcement of the death of the Hon. John 
Mollis Bankhead, late a Senator from the State of Alabama. 

Resolved, That a committee of nine Senators be appointed by 
the President pro tempore of the Senate to take order for super- 
intending the funeral of the late Senator. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the remains of the 
dead Senator be removed from Washington to Jasper, Ala., for 
burial in charge of the Sergeant at Arms, attended by the com- 

[72] 



Proceedings in the House 



mittee, who shall have full power to carry these resolutions into 
effect. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
the House of Representatives. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 

And in compliance of the foregoing resolution the Vice 
President had appointed Mr. Underwood, Mr. Nelson, 
Mr. Pomerene, Mr. Townsend, Mr. McKellar, Mr. Fernald, 
Mr. Ashurst, Mr. Ball, and Mr. Harrison as the committee 
on the part of the Senate. 



Friday, December 10, 1920. 
The committee informally rose; and Mr. Kelly of Penn- 
sylvania having taken the chair as Speaker pro tempore, 
a message from the Senate, by Mr. Crockett, one of its 
clerks, announced that the Senate had passed the follow- 
ing resolution: 

Senate resolution 396 

Resolved, That the Senate expresses its profound sorrow in the 
death of the Hon. John Hollis Bankhead, late a Senator from the 
State of Alabama. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased the business of the Senate be now suspended to enable his 
associates to pay proper tribute to his high character and distin- 
guished public service. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
the House of Representatives and transmit a copy thereof to the 
family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 



[73] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

Monday, January 10, 1921. 

Mr. Dent. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the 
present consideration of the following order. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Alabama asks unani- 
mous consent for the present consideration of a resolution, 
which the Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Ordered, That Sunday, the 30th day of January, 1921, at 12 
o'clock noon, be set apart for addresses on the life, character, and 
public services of Hon. John H. Bankhead, late a Representative 
and Senator from the State of Alabama. 

The Speaker. Is there objection to the present consider- 
ation of the order? 
There was no objection. 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the order. 
The order was agreed to. 



Saturday, January 29, 1921. 
The Speaker. To-morrow the House meets for memorial 
exercises for the late Senator Bankhead and the Chair 
would like to designate the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. 
Blackmon, to preside. 



Sunday, January 30, 1921. 

The House met at 12 o'clock noon and was called to 
order by Mr. Blackmon as Speaker pro tempore. 

Rev. William Couden, of Concord, Mich., offered the 
following prayer: 

Almighty God, we thank Thee for the revelation through 
Christ's gospel that enables our souls when prostrate to 
look up into Thy face beyond all shadows and to call Thee 
" Our Father." This morning we assemble out of rever- 

[74] 



Proceedings in the House 



ence for a good man who has passed from us to return no 
more. We are glad to remember his personal charm and 
integrity, his rich mentality, and his public loyalty in the 
service of his town, his county, his State, and his Nation, 
both as Representative and Senator. Though he will be 
missed here, we feel that to him can be applied the words 
that were spoken of ex-President Benjamin Harrison: 

Great lives do not go out; they go on. 

Bless, we pray Thee, the great and holy matters in which 
this man was interested; the welfare of our country, the 
spread of justice, and the establishment of truth and love. 
Encourage those who were his colleagues in promoting 
every good cause. 

Especially, we beseech Thee, to pour out Thy merciful 
and gracious healing upon the group of his near friends 
and kinsfolk. Breathe Thy spirit of comfort upon his 
very dearest, the members of his family whose hearts are 
burdened with the heavy load of missing daily his inti- 
mate presence. May they find to hand all those Christian 
powers that enable Thy children to sorrow, not as those 
who are without hope in Jesus. And, finally, through the 
Redeemer's triumph, bring us all with sins forgiven and 
in perfect peace to our heavenly home. Amen. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will report the 
special order. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

On motion of Mr. Dent, by unanimous consent, Ordered, That 
Sunday, January, 30, 1921, at 12 o'clock noon, be set apart for 
addresses on the life, character, and public services of Hon. John 
H. Bankhead, late a Senator from the State of Alabama. 

Mr. Dent. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following resolution. 
The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will report the 
resolution. 



[75] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

The Clerk read as follows: 

House resolution 658 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, that 
opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. John 
HoLLis Bankhead, late a Senator from the State of Alabama. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public ca- 
reer, the House, at the conclusion of these exercises, shall stand 
adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the 
family of the deceased. 

The resolution was agreed to. 



76 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Dent, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: The late Senator John H. Bankhead, of 
Alabama, was for 20 years a Member of this body before 
going to the Senate 13 years ago. His long, conspicuous, 
and honorable service here makes it indeed appropriate 
that this time should be set apart to pay tribute to his 
memory. The Senate, of which body he was a Member 
at the time of his death, has already memorialized his 
life and character. His former colleagues there, par- 
ticularly the senior Senator from his own State, have 
given in detail the long public service which he rendered 
to his native State. It would be useless for me to now 
repeat the details. Suffice it to say that his record as a 
Confederate soldier, his service in both branches of the 
Alabama Legislature, and his career as a Representative 
from that State in both Houses of Congress speak for 
themselves. 

It is seldom given to any man to have such a long, 
useful, and almost unbroken career in public life, and 
I am sure no man filled the trusts committed to him with 
greater faithfulness or more signal ability. 

Senator Bankhead was indeed a remarkable man. In 
every undertaking he was accurate, painstaking, and 
thorough. Though not a lawyer by profession, I heard 
him make a most splendid legal argument in the Senate 
relative to the amendment providing for the direct elec- 
tion of Senators when the governor of Alabama made 
an appointment to fill a vacancy in the Senate from that 
State. 

He had a clear and a broad vision, observing the possi- 
bilities for the development of his State and the country 

[77] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

at large as few men have been given the faculty to 
foresee. 

Unquestionably he was one of the wisest counsellors 
it has been my privilege to know. When I came to Con- 
gress about 12 years ago I acquired his friendship and 
often sought his advice. I do not recall that in a single 
instance his judgment was in error. I speak from the 
heart when I say in his death I lost a real friend. 

He was a practical statesman. He did much for Ala- 
bama, as much, I may say, without making objectionable 
comparisons, as any man who ever represented her in 
the Halls of Congress, and his memory will be forever 
enshrined in the hearts of a grateful people whom he 
served so faithfully and so well. 



[78] 



Address of Mr. Madden, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker : We do not come here to-day to mourn the 
death of Senator Bankhead, for it is just as natural to 
die as it is to live. We come to pay tribute to his memory, 
and to his work and his life. 

I had the privilege of serving in this House with Sena- 
tor Bankhead before he went to the Senate. I served with 
him on the Rivers and Harbors Committee and in other 
activities. After he left the House it was my privilege to 
serve with him on conferences between the House and the 
Senate. It was also my privilege to serve with him as a 
member of the joint commission on postal salaries. 

In my judgment Senator Bankhead was one of the 
plainest of the good, common, every-day citizens of this 
Nation. He never assumed that public place gave him 
superior rights. He realized that he was one of the people, 
and he never lost sight of the fact that the people of the 
Nation are the rulers of the Nation. He lived a life of pa- 
triotism. His patriotism was intense, as tender as the af- 
fection of son for mother, as strong as the pillars of death. 
He shrank from no sacrifice, and sought no reward except 
his country's triumph. 

During the Civil War he fought on the Confederate side 
with his own people. That he was a brave soldier the 
records of his service prove. At the close of the war he 
came into the Union with a firm determination to be for 
America, to know no north and no south, no east and no 
west. 

No man ever served in the Congress of the United States 
with more fidelity or a greater determination to do the 
thing that was best for the people than John Hollis Bank- 
head. It was a privilege to know him, to serve with him. 
No one could do either without loving him. No one could 

[79] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

watch him in the performance of his duty without realiz- 
ing that he had but one object, and that object the public 
weal. He was a wonderful character. Plain, simple, di- 
rect. He was industrious, energetic, forceful, and always 
attentive to his duties. 

He was foremost in advocacy of Federal cooperation in 
road building, and conspicuous as the result of his work is 
the name of the Bankhead Highway, reaching from ocean 
to ocean. He was never ending in his determination to 
see that his State stood foremost among the States of the 
Union. But he was for America above all else. He be- 
lieved that we should do our work in such a way as to 
make the word "America " mean more than it ever meant 
before. He has left on the record of American history a 
work that will live. He believed that the American flag 
should be respected in every land and on every sea. He 
conducted himself in such a way that it was easy to co- 
operate with him. He was strong in his determination to 
do what he believed to be right. He would not yield un- 
less the facts justified it. He decided questions upon facts, 
not upon fancy. He was able to distinguish between so- 
called public opinion produced by propaganda, and public 
opinion which was real. He was never swayed in his ac- 
tions by propaganda, but no man was more responsive to 
real public opinion than was John Hollis Bankhead. 

He stood foursquare before every wind that blew. He 
never trimmed sail to meet the passing breeze. He be- 
lieved in the wisdom of the people. He knew that in the 
long run they would understand and reach right conclu- 
sions. He acted on the theory that the best interests of 
the country would be served by a study of the facts and 
not in action that for the moment might gain popular 
favor. He qualified himself by research to decide im- 
portant questions. Once in possession of all the facts he 
never equivocated, he acted. 

[80] 



Address of Mr. Madden, of Illinois 



It is a great privilege to be here to-day and to express 
the opinions which I have formed of this good man as the 
result of my contact with him. I know of no man with 
whom I have ever served that was more worthy of trust, 
no man whose life will live in the acts of other men more 
than that of Mr. Bankhead. His life was worthy of emu- 
lation. He has passed away from the scenes of activity 
here, but his work will live on. 

No day passes that I do not think of things that he has 
done, that I do not have called to my attention his strong 
personality. Of all the men with whom I have served in 
conference Senator Bankhead was the one man who could 
be relied upon to be just; always insistent on the rights of 
the State that honored him with membership in the House 
and the Senate, he nevertheless never forgot that other 
States had rights, and while he may not always have been 
willing to yield without considerable argument he fully 
realized the rights of others. He recognized that it was 
only as the result of full, fair, and deliberate conference 
that results finally shaped into legislation were so shaped 
because of the concessions made by those who had opin- 
ions on either side. He realized, more than any man I 
ever saw, that legislation in its final analysis was the result 
of compromise. He realized that legislation enacted on 
the opinions of those from any given section would not be 
enforceable, and that no legislation could become effective 
as the law of the land unless it met with almost universal 
approval, and that could only be reached by a system of 
compromise. 

He loved the people of his State as no other man I ever 
knew. He loved the people of his Nation. He accepted the 
verdict at the close of the Civil War without reservation, 
and coming into the councils of the Nation in the House 
shortly after that, finally entering the Senate, he made a 
record of loyalty and devotion and unselfishness as an 

46667—21 6 [81] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

American tried and true, of which every man, woman, 
and child in America should be proud. He was an Ameri- 
can in the best sense, a simple, straightforward, unassum- 
ing, courageous, honest man with an integrity of purpose 
never questioned anywhere; brilliant, indefatigable in 
effort for his people, for his State, and for the Nation. He 
exemplified his loyalty and devotion and personal sacrifice 
in the enthusiasm with which he supported every measure 
for the fulfillment of America's obligations during the 
Great War in which this country was engaged with Ger- 
many. Foremost in every movement that meant for 
American supremacy, that meant the preservation of 
American institutions, and the perpetuation of constitu- 
tional rights, John H. Bankhead made a record of which 
his friends have reason to be proud. 

We will miss him, we have missed him, but we are proud 
that he lived, proud that he lived to such a good old age, 
proud that he was an American, proud of his achieve- 
ments, proud of his sacrifices, proud that he was a simple, 
plain American, whom public office could not change into 
the attitude of autocracy. 

We rejoice that God gave him birth, that he was per- 
mitted to serve his country, that he devoted himself to the 
improvement of the human race. His life and his work 
have made the Nation better, friends dearer, home brighter. 
He loved the common man, his life was devoted to the 
improvement of conditions under which he lived. He was 
proud to have lived in a land where every citizen is a 
sovereign. He was in every sense a public servant who 
justified the people's confidence. 



[82] 



Address of Mr. Bell, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker: Permit me as a friend and admirer of 
Senator Bankhead to add my tribute of respect and ad- 
miration to his memory. 

Having served with him in the Fifty-ninth Congress 
in the House of Representatives, and during the last days 
of his life having been associated with him as a member 
of the Joint Postal Commission, of which he was chair- 
man, I was enabled to have a personal knowledge of his 
splendid character and fine ability, and felt myself hon- 
ored to be classed among his friends. His passing away 
was a distinct loss not only to his immediate section, and 
the South, but to the Nation at large. He was signally 
interested in any work or project that looked to the de- 
velopment of the country he loved so well and for the 
benefit of his fellow man, his work for good roads in 
this connection being conspicuous. In recognition of a 
system of highways which, under the leadership of Sen- 
ator Bankhead, was initiated in the legislation he spon- 
sored. Congress has authorized the erection of a suit- 
able monument marking the point from which in future 
all national highways from Washington will radiate. 
This monument is gradually to be completed according 
to designs already approved by the Fine Arts Commis- 
sion; is to be located immediately south of the White 
House on the northern line of the Ellipse, inscriptions 
denoting it as the starting point of two transcontinental 
motor convoys from Washington to San Francisco, one 
on June 7, 1919, over the Lincoln Highway, and the other 
on June 14, 1920, over the Bankhead National Highway 
through the Southern States, the home city of Senator 
Bankhead, Jasper, Ala., through Texas, New Mexico, and 
Arizona to San Francisco. 

[83] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

This work for good roads and his many other activities 
was in keeping with the nature of the man, constantly 
striving to accomplish something which would be of 
lasting good to his fellow man. The National Highway 
and the monument to be erected is a fitting memorial to 
his life — " Something attempted, something done, has 
earned a night's repose." I feel sure that the pomp and 
glory of this world did not appeal to him as would that 
simple encomium — " Earned a night's repose !'* 

To Senator Bankhead political virtue meant more than 
merely keeping faith with his party; to him it meant 
action, ceaseless work to bring to his fellow man the 
realization of good government. Public office meant only 
to him the avenue by which he could serve his fellow 
man. He was in truth a great commoner. No one was 
too lowly to receive his aid. Indeed, he felt that they 
were the ones who needed encouragement and sympathy. 

When I came to Washington in 1904 one of the first 
Members of Congress outside of my home State I met 
was Senator Bankhead. We became good friends, and 
that friendship lasted to the day of his death. I often 
consulted him about important measures which were to 
be voted upon by Congress, and his advice was always 
good and his judgment sound. He was never too busy 
to confer with me about any matter which seemed to him 
important to me. I learned to lean upon him almost as 
though he were my father, and he always appeared grati- 
fied when I profited by his kindly advice. He was a very 
remarkable man; indeed, a very unusual man. He was 
firm but gentle. He was independent in thought, yet 
he never spurned the counsel of his friends. He was 
always to be found on the side of justice and right. He 
would not quibble over unimportant matters, but always 
looked for something worth while and that which he 
believed important to his country and his fellow man. 

[84] 



Address of Mr. Bell, of Georgia 



In his conclusions he was as steadfast and firm as the 
"Rock of Gibraltar." 

I had the privilege and pleasure of serving with him on 
two important joint commissions of the House and Senate, 
and I always found him reliable in word and deed. I 
served on many conference committees with him, and he 
was always fair and impartial with his coworkers. He 
was always ready to meet his antagonist without fear, yet 
at the same time ready and willing to compromise if, in- 
deed, he found himself in error or when the interest of a 
majority of the people he represented was involved. He 
was a great man. Great because he was good, as no man 
can be truly great without being good. 

I have been told of the great love and affection he had 
for his family, his wife, his children, and his grand- 
children, and this within itself shows the great soul which 
possessed our departed friend. 

I did not know until the spring of 1920 that his popu- 
larity extended from coast to coast. While attending a 
meeting of the Joint Postal Commission in Kansas City the 
mere mention of his name, although he was not present, 
provoked a storm of applause. 

In thinking of Senator Bankhead's love for his fellow 
man; of the spirit of brotherhood that dominated his life 
and left its impress upon the hearts and lives of those with 
whom he came in contact, I am reminded of the words of 
the poem — 

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn 

In the place of their self-content; 
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart, 

In a fellowless firmament; 
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths 

Where highways never ran — 
But let me live by the side of the road 

And be a friend to man. 



[85] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

Let me live in a house by the side of the road 

Where the race of men go by — 
The men who are good and the men who are bad, 

As good and as bad as I. 
I would not sit in the scorner's seat 

Or hurl the cynic's ban — 
Let me live in a house by the side of the road 

And be a friend to man. 

I see from my house by the side of the road, 

By the side of the highway of life. 
The men who press with the ardor of hope, 

The men who are faint with the strife; 
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears. 

Both parts of an infinite plan — 
Let me live in a house by the side of the road 

And be a friend to man. 

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead. 

And mountains of wearisome height; 
That the road passes on through the long afternoon 

And stretches away to the night; 
And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice. 

And weep with the strangers that moan, 
Nor live in my house by the side of the road 

Like a man who dwells alone. 

Let me live in my house by the side of the road, 

It's here the race of men go by — 
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong. 

Wise, foolish — so am I. 
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat. 

Or hurl the cynic's ban? 
Let me live in my house by the side of the road 

And be a friend to man. 



[86] 



Address of Mr. Greene, of Massachusetts 

Mr. Speaker: The record shows that the late Senator 
Bankhead was a Member of the Fiftieth Congress and he 
continuously served as a Member of the Sixtieth Congress. 
He was appointed to the Inland Waterway Commission in 
1907, and served with marked ability on that important 
commission, and was appointed to succeed the late Sena- 
tor John T. Morgan in June, 1907. He had a majority 
over all candidates for his selection as the candidate to 
the United States Senate to fill the vacancy occurring by 
reason of the death of the late Senator Morgan. It was 
my privilege to be elected a Member of the Fifty-fifth Con- 
gress to fill a vacancy caused by the death of my prede- 
cessor. 

It was there that I made the acquaintance of the late 
Senator John Hollis Bankhead, whose memory we com- 
memorate to-day. I found him a congenial and experi- 
enced legislator, and we remained firm personal friends 
during his membership of the House of Representatives. 

The people of the State of Alabama appreciated his 
public services, and they called him from his post of honor 
as a member of the Inland Waterway Commission to 
which he had been appointed to the greater distinction 
of becoming a Member of the United States Senate. There 
I met him frequently. Senator Bankhead was about 17 
months younger than myself. 

Senator Page of Vermont conceived the idea a few years 
ago of inviting the Members of the United States Senate 
and House of Representatives who had passed the age of 
70 years to join him in a luncheon on the anniversary of 
the birth of Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, former Speaker of the 

[87] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

House of Representatives, on June 7, and he will be 85 
years of age on June 7, 1921. The late Senator Bankhead 
was one of the group who joined in these festivities, which 
became a great pleasure to all who participated as the 
years passed by. 

During my entire membership of the House of Repre- 
sentatives I have retained my membership of the Com- 
mittee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and I have 
felt very much gratified that Hon. William B. Bankhead, 
a son of the late Senator Bankhead, was assigned to that 
committee as a member, and thus the tie of friendship to 
the family of the late Senator has become very much en- 
deared and strengthened by my association with his dis- 
tinguished son and faithful public servant. I wish to 
thank the Alabama delegation for inviting me to pay my 
memorial tribute to the late Senator Bankhead. He had 
a long and useful life, serving his State with distinction 
and ability, and had the further distinguished honor of 
long service in the House of Representatives and the United 
States Senate. 



[88] 



Address of Mr. Almon, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: While I consider it an honor to pay my 
tribute to the high character and great achievements of 
Senator Bankhead, I at the same time realize that I am 
altogether unable to express in words a fitting tribute to 
his memory. 

Such a career as his, so long, so full of accomplishments, 
it is impossible to even touch upon in detail in the limited 
time which either of us can to-day properly occupy, and 
I shall not attempt to do so. 

When I began to take an interest in public affairs Sena- 
tor Bankhead was one of the leaders in Alabama. I have 
campaigned with him, and we have often spoken from the 
same platform. We became very warm and close friends, 
and his death grieved me very greatly. I often went to 
him for counsel and advice, and always found him a safe 
and wise counselor. I had the honor as a member of the 
Alabama Legislature to place him in nomination for his 
first full term in the United States Senate. 

The surroundings of one's youth have a great influence 
upon the habits and characteristics of life. Senator Bank- 
head was raised in the rural district of north Alabama. 
He came of a hardy race of pioneers of Scotch-Irish de- 
scent. Gifted with a powerful physique, his was a com- 
manding figure with a mental equipment to match, 
although his educational advantages were very limited. 

For almost a half century the people of Alabama hon- 
ored him with their love and confidence by electing him 
to State and Federal offices. For 35 years in the two 
Houses of Congress he stood out in bold relief as a national 
figure, a leader in all that made for the welfare and good 
of his country and his fellow man. 

[893 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

For 20 years he occupied a prominent and leading 
position in this House and for 15 years in the Senate — 
loved and respected by his colleagues in each body. Never 
once have I heard his personal integrity questioned. 

Alabama has furnished men of renown in the affairs of 
the Nation, but none more beloved by her people than 
John Hollis Bankhead. 

In the United States Senate as the successor of John T. 
Morgan he fulfilled the highest expectations of his friends 
and his State. He maintained his position on a par with 
that of his most illustrious predecessors. 

The service of Senator Bankhead in the House and the 
Senate is a record of devotion to duty to his State and his 
Nation. It was faithful, able, and extremely useful. 

At the very beginning of the Civil War John Hollis 
Bankhead, then a mere youth, enlisted as a private in 
Company K, Sixteenth Alabama Regiment, Infantry Volun- 
teers, and was in the thick of the conflict to the end. On 
account of his splendid record as a soldier he was pro- 
moted to a lieutenancy and afterwards to a captaincy. 
He was wounded while leading the Sixteenth Alabama 
Regiment in the charge at Chickamauga. He was loved, 
honored, and respected by his comrades in arms. He 
was the last Confederate soldier to serve in the United 
States Senate. Our much beloved and honored colleague, 
Maj. Charles M. Stedman, of North Carolina, who cele- 
brated his eightieth birthday on yesterday, is the only one 
remaining in the House. 

The subjects which received Senator Bankhead's special 
attention were development of water power and transpor- 
tation, especially river and harbor improvement, and 
national aid to roads. He was one of the first men in pub- 
lic life to fully realize the advantage of the development 
of our water powers. He took a leading part in all the dis- 
cussions of this subject for many years, which resulted in 

[90] 



Address of Mr. Almon, of Alabama 



the enactment of our recent water power law. He de- 
voted years of time and labor to the development of the 
great water power at Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee 
River, near my home, and in this district, which I have the 
honor to represent in this House, and the construction of 
the great Government air nitrogen plant at that place. 
He lived to see the nitrate plant, the greatest in the world, 
completed and to see the great water-power dam in rapid 
process of construction by the Government. It was largely 
through his efforts that the Warrior River in Alabama 
was made navigable from the iron and coal fields of Bir- 
mingham district to Mobile Bay. He also rendered most 
valuable service in the improvement of Mobile Harbor. 

In his first race for the United States Senate his platform 
was national aid to roads. His speeches were confined 
almost entirely to that subject. Some derided and scoffed 
at his position on this subject. Some said it was uncon- 
stitutional. Others that the Federal Government would 
never enter the business of aiding the States in building 
roads. But Senator Bankhead went on, and not only was 
elected but soon afterwards secured an appropriation for 
experimentation and demonstration. This materially 
aided in the creation of public sentiment which resulted 
in an appropriation by Congress in 1916 of $75,000,000 
and in 1919 of $200,000,000 to aid the States and counties 
in the building of roads. Senator Bankhead was the 
author of both of these appropriations. Federal aid to 
roads is now a fixed policy of the Government. The Com- 
mittee on Roads of the House, of which I have the honor to 
be a member, only yesterday unanimously reported a bill 
authorizing the appropriation of $100,000,000 for the fiscal 
year beginning July 1, 1921. All of this is very largely the 
fruits of Senator Bankhead's able and effective services. 

Through all his years of public service he urged the ad- 
vantages of good roads, and was often referred to as the 

[91] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

** Father of Good Roads." It was indeed appropriate that 
the Bankhead Highway from Washington, D. C, to San 
Diego, Calif., should bear his name. It is but a just recog- 
nition of his great work for better roads in the Nation he 
served so well and faithfully. 

A sketch of the life work of Senator Bankhead would 
not be complete without some reference to his personal 
and home life. He was always a loyal friend. His was a 
helpful, hopeful life. At all times sympathetic and kind. 
He was free from affectation, a good citizen and neighbor, 
and an earnest worker for the upbuilding of his church, 
his town, his State, and his country. 

But above all of these, he possessed those still nobler 
qualities as a family man, a faithful, tender, and devoted 
husband and father. He was married November 13, 1866, 
at Wetumka, Ala., to Miss Tallulah Brockman, who still 
survives him. She was a native of South Carolina, but 
reared in Alabama. A woman of culture, refinement, and 
great strength of character. Like many men in public 
life, called upon to face perplexities and difficulties, he 
was strengthened by the moral support and sympathy of 
the wife at home. Her high ideal of what his life and 
public service should be was a constant inspiration to him. 
Their surviving children are Louise, the wife of A. G. 
Lund; Marie, the wife of the late Thomas M. Owen; John 
H. Bankhead, jr., William B. Bankhead, and Henry M. 
Bankhead. 

One of his gifted and able sons, Hon. William B. Bank- 
head, is serving his second term in this House, and has 
been elected to the next Congress. Father and son serv- 
ing in the House and Senate at the same time for the first 
time in the history of the Congress of the United States. 
I was a member of the committee from the House to ac- 
company the remains to Alabama and attend the funeral 
ceremonies in the Methodist Church at his home in Jasper, 

[92] 



Address of Mr. Almon, of Alabama 



Ala. I was profoundly impressed by the sincere evi- 
dences of sorrow, love, and respect manifested by that 
vast throng of people from every part of Alabama 
gathered there to honor him on that occasion, represent- 
ing, as they did, every side of political and every plane of 
social life. All in all, he was one of nature's great men. 
The effect of such a life, character, works, and faith will 
make its impress not only on the present generation but 
the generations to follow. 

Alabama has furnished many eminent statesmen to the 
service of the country, but none more beloved or re- 
spected than our late lamented friend. High upon her 
rolls of fame posterity will write the name of John Hollis 
Bankhead. 



[93] 



Address of Mr. Steenerson, of Minnesota 

Mr. Speaker: The salient points in the biography of 
Senator Bankhead are that he was a farmer and made his 
home on the farm all of his life; that he was self-educated; 
that he served in the Confederate Army and was three 
times wounded on the battle field; that he served in both 
branches of the State legislature; that he served for 20 
years in the National House of Representatives, from 1887 
to 1907, and for 12 years in the United States Senate. 

I came to Congress in 1903, and during the Fifty-eighth 
and Fifty-ninth Congresses I served with Mr. Bankhead. 
He was a member of the Committee on Rivers and Har- 
bors, and I was a member of the Committee on the Post 
Office and Post Roads. Our acquaintance during these 
four years was only a speaking acquaintance. However, 
on one could be here without being attracted by the com- 
manding appearance and fine presence and wide knowl- 
edge and influence of Mr. Bankhead as a Member of this 
House. It was not until about six years ago, after he had 
served for some time as chairman of the Committee on 
Post Offices and Post Roads of the Senate, and I had be- 
come the ranking Republican member of the House com- 
mittee, that I had occasion to become better acquainted 
with him, because as members of the various conferences 
to adjust the differences between the two Houses on postal 
matters we had frequent meetings and discussions, and 1 
then learned to know him and to admire him greatly. I 
also served with him on two joint commissions, first the 
Commission on Pneumatic Tubes, from 1917 to 1919, and 
later the Commission on Postal Salaries, of which latter 
commission he was a member and chairman when he died. 

[94] 



Address of Mr. Steenerson, of Minnesota 

He was a man of good judgment and very extensive 
knowledge of the affairs of our Government. He was a 
man of independence, and although a party man he was 
not afraid to exercise his own judgment when he thought 
he had a right to differ with his party. He believed that 
the legislative branch of the Government was coordinate 
with the executive, and he would not take orders from 
the executive or any others. He maintained with great 
ability the traditional dignity and independence of Con- 
gress and resisted any attempt to make it simply a regis- 
tering body for the will of another branch of the Govern- 
ment. 

He had been brought up in a school of political thought 
which believed in the strict construction of the Constitu- 
tion, the chief exponents of which were Jefferson, Jackson, 
Monroe, and others. One of the main tenets of this school 
of politics was State rights to the extent of believing, as 
they did, that this was only a compact of independent 
sovereign powers, and that the States had a right to secede 
from the Union. He fought for four years on the Con- 
federate side, but when the war was over he believed that 
the issue between these two different schools of thought 
had been finally settled and that there was a new order of 
things for the future. He was fully reconciled to the new 
order. He became a strong Union man. This was most 
eloquently expressed by him in a short speech upon the 
occasion of the visit of the Confederate soldiers to Wash- 
ington some two or three years ago, when he appeared in 
the Senate in his Confederate uniform and moved an ad- 
journment in order that the Senate might join in showing 
respect to his old comrades in arms. At that time he said : 

A little more than half a century ago Confederate soldiers in arms 
were hammering at the gates of Washington in an effort to sever 
their relations with the National Government. Thursday, march- 
ing with broken body and faltering steps on a mission of peace and 
love, not of hatred and bloodshed, but in a spirit of resolute recon- 

[95] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

ciliation and absolute loyalty to our flag, they will voice in vibrant 
tones to all the world an indissoluble Union of the United States. 
I am grateful that God has spared me to see this day when my old 
comrades in arms of the Confederacy are here in the Capital of 
that Nation which for four years they struggled desperately to 
destroy, but which none in all this great Republic are now more 
anxious to preserve. 

That was an indication of the breadth of his views and 
the soundness of his judgment. 

It is a rather singular but noteworthy fact in our history 
that owing to the struggle between the two different 
schools of thought, the followers of Hamilton on the one 
side and of Jefferson on the other, as to the extent of the 
powers the States delegated to the Union, a great many of 
the undisputed powers were neglected and not exercised 
for a long time. The powers to regulate commerce and 
to establish post offices and post roads were practically 
neglected, at least the former, for a hundred years after 
the adoption of the Constitution. It was not until 1887, 
the first year of Senator Bankhead's service in the House 
of Representatives, that the act to regulate commerce was 
passed, which was the pioneer law and indicated a new 
era in the extension of Federal power over the affairs of 
the people of this Nation. A little later came the antitrust 
law, upon which a great many subsequent statutes and ex- 
tension of Federal power have been built. 

Mr. Bankhead's first activity in Congress was with ref- 
erence to the improvement of waterways and rivers and 
harbors generally. He was for several years the chairman 
of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. He 
was chairman during the time that the present Library 
of Congress was erected, and it is in part at least due to 
the laws passed at that time, although the name of that 
library is the Library of Congress, that it has actually be- 
come a national library, and has had an unseen and un- 
known influence, but a great one, upon the development of 

[96] 



Address of Mr. Steenerson, of Minnesota 



the national spirit among our people and the obliteration 
of sectional animosities. Mr. Bankhead's greatest service 
to the country has been in the direction of the extension of 
the postal powers of Congress. It seems almost ridiculous 
to reflect that for nearly a hundred years the great states- 
men of the country and those who ruled the destinies of 
the Nation believed that where the Constitution says that 
Congress shall have power to establish post offices and 
post roads, it did not confer the power to build or con- 
struct a road. 

They believed that the Federal Government had no 
power, except with the consent of the different States, to 
go into those States and aid in the construction of roads, 
that the Federal Government had to have the aid of the 
State to acquire property, that the United States had no 
right of eminent domain, and the attempt which was sev- 
eral times made to build national highways in those days 
encountered insuperable difficulties, as will be recalled in 
connection with the Cumberland Road up here. However, 
the legislation in regard to the construction of transcon- 
tinental lines of railroads following the Civil War, rail- 
road and telegraph lines, brought the question squarely 
before the Supreme Court of the United States, and in 
1877 it was finally determined by the highest judicial au- 
thority in the land that the postal power of Congress ex- 
tended both to building and to authorizing private cor- 
porations chartered by it to construct railroads, post 
roads, and telegraph lines (96 U. S.). The same question 
came up again in the case of California against the Pacific 
Railroad (127 U. S.) in 1888 when Mr. Bankhead was a 
Member of the House, and again the Supreme Court de- 
clared that there could be no question as to the power of 
Congress under the postal clause to either directly con- 
struct post roads or to authorize their construction. Up 
to that time there had been very little effort made in the 

46667—21 7 [97] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

direction of having the Federal Government really aid in 
building post roads in the country. Senator Bankhead 
was the pioneer in that effort, and as has been stated by 
the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Almon, he labored 
for many years without being able to bring about the 
object of his efforts. At first his was a voice in the wilder- 
ness, but finally in 1916 the first Federal road aid act was 
passed very largely through his efforts, and it appro- 
priated $75,000,000 to aid the different States to be allotted 
to them upon the basis of road mileage and population, 
for a period of five years. 

Later on he introduced in the Senate what was called 
the Bankhead bill, increasing the appropriation under 
the Federal road act, of 1916, by $200,000,000. He secured 
its insertion in the annual appropriation bill of 1919 as a 
rider. When it came back here the House by unanimous 
consent disagreed to all the Senate amendments and ap- 
pointed conferees. I was one of the conferees. It would 
have been a pleasing experience for anyone to have 
watched Senator Bankhead in that conference, when the 
conferees on the part of the House came over to the Senate 
to struggle for the maintenance of the House position; for 
he knew in his heart that at least three-fourths of the 
House Members favored the appropriation, but as a mat- 
ter of form the conferees on the part of the House had to 
fight for the position taken by the House in disagreeing 
to the amendment. But in the course of protracted diplo- 
matic negotiations the House conferees finally " yielded," 
and the provision was included in the annual appropria- 
tion act and became a law. 

But it was not only in the direction of building good 
roads and aiding in the extension of country post roads 
that Mr. Bankhead was active. He also aided in the estab- 
lishment and the extension of the rural delivery and the 
parcel post and the postal savings bank system. As has 

[98] 



Address of Mr. Steenerson, of Minnesota 

been pointed out here he was one of the main advocates 
of the adoption of the Federal water power act which was 
pending for so many years and which lately became a law. 
This is another extension of Federal power. 

It may be asked if this championship on the part of this 
professed follower of Thomas Jefferson was not incon- 
sistent with his political beliefs. The answer is no, be- 
cause it was now established that there was no constitu- 
tional limitation and the extension of Federal power over 
these matters became an accomplished fact, not only by 
the decision of the war but by the decisions of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, and it was not a question 
whether we had these powers that Mr. Bankhead was 
active in extending, but whether we should exercise them 
or not, and, if so, to what extent. That was a question of 
judgment. 

During the late war, as a war measure, this Government 
seized the railroads, telegraphs, and telephones. There 
were many high in power who seemed to think that this 
was a golden opportunity to establish Government owner- 
ship and operation of these facilities, and they advocated 
first an extension of five years in order to try out the ex- 
periment. But Senator Bankhead took the view that there 
was no question that we had the power to operate rail- 
roads and to own them, both under the commerce clause 
and under the postal clause of the Constitution, and also 
the telegraph and telephones, if we though it wise to do so. 
But, having taken them for war purposes, it was hardly 
fair to the people to assume a new and radical departure 
in government without first submitting it to their decision; 
that whether or not it would be wise so to limit private 
initiative enterprise by such an enormous extension of 
governmental activities was a serious matter that might 
affect the very perpetuity of representative government, 
and for that reason he thought that when the necessity 

[99] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

had passed these utilities should be returned to their 
owners. 

I was an admirer of Senator Bankhead. I admired him 
for the broadness of his vision and the soundness of his 
views. But so many encomiums upon his personal life 
and character have been paid him by those who have a 
right to speak from a greater and more intimate ac- 
quaintanceship that it would be almost presumption for 
me to try to add anything to what they have said. 

The life of Senator Bankhead will be an inspiration to 
the young in future ages. He has left a deep impression 
upon our institutions, and the influence of his legislative 
work will long be felt and remembered. He is gone, but 
he leaves a name and a fame that constitute a rich inher- 
itance to his family, his State, and the country. 



[lOOJ 



Address of Mr. Small, of North Carolina 

Mr. Speaker : When we come to speak of the dead there 
is a natural hesitancy with every man of modesty and 
simplicity of thought for fear that he may violate in some 
degree the proprieties of such an occasion. If Senator 
Bankhead could speak to us to-day his admonition would 
be, " Characterize me as I was." Fortunately in his case 
such a characterization, entirely within the limits of 
truth, not only does justice to his memory but marks 
him as one of the distinguished men of his State and 
country. 

When I first entered this body in the Fifty-sixth Con- 
gress, at the first legislative session in December, 1899, 
Mr. Bankhead was a Member of the House, and even at 
that time was regarded as a veteran legislator. I recall 
quite distinctly our first meeting. It so happened, as is 
the case with every new Member, I had ambitions and 
purposes, one of which carried me to the committee of 
which he was a distinguished member, the Committee 
on Rivers and Harbors. 

There is scarcely a Member of this House who does 
not recall during his novitiate the differences in the re- 
ception which he received from the older Members. 
Some w^ere in the nature of rebuffs, others of coldness 
and indifference; and nobody appreciates like the new 
Member the kindly, gentle, considerate, and encourag- 
ing reception from an old Member. It was that sort of 
a reception which Mr. Bankhead gave to me. And dur- 
ing the following 20 years which ensued, while not thrown 
intimately together, yet I came to admire, to respect, 
and to love the man, and it is to-day a source of some 
satisfaction to feel that upon more than one occasion 

[101] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

he was gracious enough to consult me in a friendly inti- 
mate fashion about problems of a public nature. 

For 33 years Mr. Bankhead served in the Congress — 20 
years, as I recall, in the House of Representatives and 
13 years in the Senate. Therefore the mature years of 
his life were devoted to the service of his country in the 
Federal Legislature. It seems to me that in this brief 
moment I could do nothing more appropriate than to 
refer to the legislative career of Senator Bankhead, point- 
ing out some of the outstanding factors which entered 
into his public life and marked him as a man and as 
a faithful servant of the people. 

There are some essentials necessary to a successful 
legislator. Of course, he must have a strong mentality — 
a brain not only well endowed, but one which by train- 
ing and discipline has come to be the servant of the man. 
Senator Bankhead had a strong, virile mind, and by dili- 
gence, by protracted study of public questions to which 
he gave attention, he had trained that mind in such a 
way as to make it a potential instrumentality in the public 
service. 

A legislator must have imagination and vision, but he 
must not permit them to run riot. He must keep them 
within control. Mr. Bankhead had imagination. He 
could peer into the future, and the visions which he saw 
were such as made for the public welfare, were prac- 
tical in every aspect, and he lived to see many of them 
brought to a successful fruition. 

A legislator must have self-control. In fact, there is 
no more essential characteristic which a man should 
possess in any avenue of life than to be master of him- 
self. Self-control implies will power, the capacity to 
withstand temptation, to avoid the aberrations of mind 
and heart, to walk straight to the object which he has 
in mind undismayed and unafraid. Mr. Bankhead had 

[102] 



Address of Mr. Small, of North Carolina 

that self-control and that will power which is an essential 
accompaniment. 

The legislator must have courage. Upon how many 
occasions have Members of this House found it necessary 
to invoke all the courage which they possess ; the courage 
which withstands the clamor of to-day in order to have 
an opportunity to stand in the sunlight of truth to- 
morrow; the courage to avoid the paths of the demagogue 
and to walk in the highway of righteousness. A man 
serving the public who does not possess in some degree 
the courage to look beyond the temptations of to-day in 
seeking the truth of the future will frequently find him- 
self taking paths which he regrets to-morrow. 

A legislator must have integrity. In fact, it is abso- 
lutely essential. Every intelligent student of government, 
particularly of a democracy, knows that the courts in the 
administration of the law are the bulwark of liberty and 
good government. Every observant citizen, and particu- 
larly every lawyer, learns soon to recognize the surpass- 
ing advantage of integrity on the part of the judge. He, . 
in fact, is willing to minimize intellect if he can substi- 
tute for it a large degree of common sense, good judg- 
ment, and unbending integrity. 

A former Member of this House, now a distinguished 
Senator, Senator John Sharp Williams, of Mississippi, 
while a Member of this House, frequently used the ex- 
pression in referring to a person, that he possessed " intel- 
lectual integrity." He was seeking, as we may assume, 
to distinguish intellectual from moral integrity. 

There is perhaps a distinction. Some of us have seen 
men whose moral integrity we would scarcely dare im- 
pugn, and yet we were reluctant to admit that they pos- 
sessed intellectual integrity. But a combination of the 
two, thinking straight and clear, with the moral safe- 
guards of a robust integrity, mark such a man who is 

[103] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

its possessor as a man peculiarly equipped to serve in 
a public station. I believe that Senator Bankhead pos- 
sessed not only a strong moral but an equally marked 
intellectual integrity. 

A legislator must have patience and faith. A Member 
coming into this body stirred by ambitious aims, desiring 
to accomplish some piece of legislation, will soon en- 
counter handicaps and obstacles which try his patience. 
It is a test of his self-control, a test of his ability to deal 
with men, a test of his capacity to work under disap- 
pointment. Senator Bankhead was connected with many 
pieces of legislation, now a part of the law of the land, 
in which he was conspicuous, and in many instances the 
largest factor in their enactment. In bringing to final 
success those measures in which he was peculiarly and 
personally interested it may be taken for granted that he 
had learned in the school of legislative experience the 
wisdom of patience, of faith, and of endurance. 

Every legislator must be practical minded. I had the 
privilege of saying a moment ago that while he must 
possess imagination and vision he must not let them run 
riot. He must apply to his legislative purposes the prac- 
tical thought of a man of common sense and unerring 
judgment. Perhaps that virtue of practicality was one 
which he possessed in a larger degree than others. He 
did not care to shine, it was not for the glory of the 
effort, but for the satisfaction of the success for which 
he lived his legislative life. 

I shall only detain you longer to mention the last two 
pieces of legislation which in a large degree should be 
credited to the legislative career of Senator Bankhead. 
One of the gentlemen referred to his membership for 
years as a Member of the House of the Committee on 
Rivers and Harbors. He was a diligent member of that 
committee and ranked with the chairman in influence. 

[104] 



Address of Mr. Small, of North Carolina 

One of the particular projects which he believed was most 
necessary in the public interest was the improvement of 
the Warrior River system, which involved its canalization 
by locks and dams at a large cost. Steadily, year after 
year, he fought for and obtained appropriations for this 
project. There were many critics, many who sneered, 
many who doubted the utility of this improvement as a 
part of our system of transportation, and yet his faith 
never wavered. Only within the past few years has his 
work come to be justified, and in the near future the 
wisdom of the improvement of this great river linking 
together the coal fields and the almost inexhaustible 
mines of ore in upper Alabama with the sea, this river 
will teem with commerce, carrying this coal and iron 
down to the sea, and carrying merchandise and other 
commodities into the interior, and will be a distinct factor 
in commerce and our system of transportation. 

Perhaps his practical vision is best illustrated in the 
law providing for Federal cooperation with the States 
in the construction of public roads. One of the peculiar 
defects in the economic life of the United States has been 
the backwardness of the States in the construction of 
adequate highways. The advent of the automobile and 
the motor truck required especially stable surface con- 
struction, which was not so necessary with the old style 
of vehicles. In the South particularly were our States 
backward. We had not learned proper construction 
methods, but more important perhaps, we had not learned 
the necessity of maintaining these roads. 

With this Federal cooperation not only has an impetus 
been given to road construction throughout the United 
States, but it has been educational in that the States and 
communities have learned how to construct hard-surfaced 
roads and the importance of maintaining them. The 
cause of good roads has been advanced and the benefits 
of this Federal cooperation will be permanent. 

[105] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

I have characterized in a simple way what I conceived 
to be the essential qualifications of a legislator, and I 
venture to express the opinion, which I believe to be well 
within the limits of truth, that Senator Bankhead pos- 
sessed such qualifications. 

Senator Bankhead in addition had fellowship with the 
humanities of life. A man whose heart can not be stirred 
by the humane phases of life is indeed unfortunate. You 
and I, gentlemen, know of men in the past and men who 
are living to-day whose intellectual capacity is high, who 
have reached distinction in their respective vocations, 
and yet who, because they are lacking in a conception of 
the humanities of life, have failed in some essential par- 
ticulars to make their impress upon their kind. The 
stranger would not regard Senator Bankhead as a man 
of sentiment. You must have associated with him to some 
extent before you became acquainted with this beautiful 
virtue. 

If I may be pardoned a personal allusion, I remember 
an occasion not many years ago of speaking to him one 
day in his committee room in the Senate about a beautiful 
relative, a granddaughter of his, and it was actually in- 
spiring to see the smile and the grateful look of recogni- 
tion and to hear the words which he uttered in expression 
of his love. Some great man has said that the man who, 
under the influence of pathos and sorrow or sympathy, 
can not shed a tear is indeed unfortunate. I am quite sure 
that if the occasion arose and the deep well of sentiment 
of that big man was stirred, an unbidden tear would have 
coursed his cheek. 

May I for just a moment refer to another phase in the 
life of this distinguished man? He was a Confederate 
soldier. I was not permitted, nor perhaps were any who 
are present on this occasion, old enough to participate in 
that fratricidal struggle. It is all over now, and we are all 

[106] 



Address of Mr. Small, of North Carolina 

citizens of this great Republic of the United States, loyal 
to its flag and its institutions; but the time should never 
come when any Southern man, or woman — and I would 
like to believe that the time will never come — when any 
man or woman from any other section of the country will 
stand up before the public eye and disparage in the slight- 
est degree the courage of the brave men who fought under 
the Stars and Bars, or the integrity and the honesty of their 
purpose. Senator Bankhead as long as he lived, while 
loyal to the Federal Government, which he exemplified in 
thousands of ways, at the same time was loyal to the cour- 
age and the integrity of the men who fought under Lee 
and Jackson for the cause that was lost. 

Of Senator Bankhead it may well be said that in war 
and in peace, on the forum and by the fireside, in public 
life and in private station, that — 

The bravest are the tenderest, the loving are the daring. 



[107] 



Address of Mr. Garrett, of Tennessee 

Mr. Speaker: I had not expected when I came into the 
Hall to participate in the ceremonies other than by ap- 
pearing and showing my respect for a great man and my 
regard for those loved ones whom he has left behind, but 
since coming into the Chamber I have been invited to say 
a few words. 

These thoughts come to me: Mr. Bankhead sought his 
country's honors that he might serve his country's good. 
I do not know whether we have followed his record closely 
enough, or whether all have, to appreciate the tremendous 
force that he has been in one particular line of govern- 
mental activity. 

The last message of President Madison dealt with a con- 
stitutional question. It was the veto of an internal im- 
provement bill. Gentlemen will find that the message 
itself, although not very long, carries with it a more ex- 
tensive and exhaustive discussion from the constitutional 
standpoint of the right of the Federal Government to 
make appropriations for internal improvement than any 
other document, so far as I know. The question of in- 
ternal improvements from that time on became a very 
sharp political question. It was several years after that 
message, but while those issues were still very much 
under discussion, that Senator Bankhead was born. The 
formative period of his life was spent during the time 
when this was one of the questions most frequently dis- 
cussed, probably more frequently discussed than any 
other, except the question of slavery. 

All of Senator Bankhead's mature life was linked with 
public activity. In its flower he was a soldier, and he went 
to the grave bearing honorable scars of honorable wounds, 

[108] 



Address of Mr. Garrett, of Tennessee 

received in an honorable cause. Very shortly after that 
he became a member of the State legislature of his State, 
and later a Representative in Congress, and then Senator. 
What attracted my attention to Senator Bankhead before 
I ever came to Congress was his advocacy of internal im- 
provements, and the force with which he advocated them. 
It might seem that we are talking shop here to-day, and 
yet when we are honoring the memory of a man whose 
whole life was linked with legislation, how can we do 
otherwise than, in a way, talk shop? I do not know that 
he originated it, but I think Senator Bankhead developed 
and certainly put into effect the proposition of coopera- 
tion on the part of the Federal Government with the 
States in the matter of expenditure for internal improve- 
ments. 

There perhaps had been some minor things antedating 
the passage of the road law, but that was the first great 
conspicuous measure that stands out in history whereby 
there was brought about what you may call cooperative 
appropriations by the Federal Government and the State 
governments in the matter of internal improvements. 
Evidently Senator Bankhead did not agree with the 
thoughts that were set forth in the veto message of Presi- 
dent Madison and which constituted wherever internal 
improvements were involved the political issue during his 
early manhood. He believed in internal improvements. 
He did not doubt the constitutional power nor the consti- 
tutional right of the Federal Government to make internal 
improvements, but he advanced the doctrine to the point 
where he brought about the cooperative movement be- 
tween the Federal Government and the States which con- 
stitutes an entirely new practice. While he may not have 
originated the idea, he did first bring about its practical 
application, and I think that is the principal thing which 
will make him a historical character. 

[109] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

When one succeeds in engrafting an entirely new prin- 
ciple or practice upon government it renders him con- 
spicuous and renders him historic, and Senator Bank- 
head's fame as a statesman will rest upon that. Of course, 
the personal affection which everyone who knew him had 
for him will not add to his fame in history, but to put a 
distinct principle into law and into the practice of a na- 
tion does give him a place separate and apart from prac- 
tically all of his fellows with whom he served in this 
House and in the other body. 

Senator Bankhead was a most genial and lovable man 
in all his relations. Loyal to his friends, loyal to his party, 
loyal to his country, he wrought a great work in the world 
and has left to those who follow him an example of dig- 
nity, efficiency, and force which must be to them an un- 
ending inspiration. 



[110] 



Address of Mr. Wingo, of Arkansas 

Mr. Speaker; I had not expected to participate actively 
in the ceremonies to-day, but I should feel that I had 
denied myself a privilege if I do not express, though only 
by a few words, my appreciation of the life and char- 
acter of this beloved Alabamian, brave soldier, and dis- 
tinguished public servant. When one comes to express 
himself upon an occasion of this kind there are so many 
different thoughts that struggle with each other for ex- 
pression that one finds difficulty in determining exactly 
what to say. So I shall confine myself to one thought 
which has come to me as I have listened to the remarks of 
my colleagues. 

As one in his mind's eye has passing before him in re- 
view the last shattered remnant of the old guard of the 
South, in the forefront standing out is the striking per- 
sonality and strong character of Senator Bankhead, which 
not only attracts attention but challenges admiration and 
respect. And the thought I want to express is this: That 
when the future historians come to write the history of 
this country, and when all the passions of the hour have 
passed away, when the prejudices and the sectional feel- 
ing aroused by the Civil War, most of which fortunately 
have already passed away — when all shall have passed, 
and historians come to write the history of the last cen- 
tury, I think they will agree that one of the most remark- 
able performances in that time was the work of men like 
Senator Bankhead and the other great leaders of the 
South who went back to civil life at the close of the war. 
They found their industries ruined, their lands laid waste, 
their homes burned, their stock and other personal prop- 
erty taken or destroyed by the invader. Yet undaunted 

[111] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

they, with faith in themselves and faith in their country, 
went to work, and in the span of their own lives they re- 
built and rehabilitated their beloved Southland, and with 
many others Senator Bankhead lived to see the day when 
not only was the South rebuilt and put upon its feet 
again, but he found himself and his son playing a promi- 
nent part in shaping the industrial life and the political 
thought and the destinies of the very Nation against which 
he and his comrades had struggled in arms. This would 
not be possible anywhere else except in America, and it 
would not be possible by any other men than those of the 
heroic mold and character of that illustrious band to 
which Senator Bankhead belonged and of which he was 
one of the great leaders. 



11121 



Address of Mr. Steagall, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: It was not my good fortune to be asso- 
ciated with Senator Bankhead in public life, nor other- 
wise, so long as were others who are spared to pay tribute 
to his memory. But I knew him intimately and well, and 
I have the profoundest appreciation both of his personal 
worth and splendid service. His public life began before 
I was born. When I was a child he was a Representative 
in Congress, and when I became a Member of this body 
he was senior Senator from Alabama, having served con- 
tinuously after his first election with only a few months' 
interruption between the termination of his service in the 
House and the beginning of his first term as Senator. 
When I took up my duties here I began the practice, which 
continued till his death, of seeking from time to time the 
benefit of his counsel and advice; and during all these 
years he never failed to respond generously to any re- 
quest made of him. He was not too little for big things 
and never too big for little things. He seemed always to 
find pleasure in the opportunity to render service to any 
citizen of his State, however humble or obscure. He never 
hesitated to go in person to officials or departments to as- 
sist or serve a friend. One of his most striking character- 
istics was his deep gratitude and unfailing loyalty to his 
friends. He never hesitated or counted the cost in answer- 
ing a call from one of them. He was so manly and coura- 
geous that even his opponents respected and admired 
him. 

It was common understanding in Alabama that no re- 
quest reaching him would fail of prompt response. He 
was loyal to the plain people and they were devoted to 
him. The struggles and adversities encountered in his 

46667—21 8 [113] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

own life gave him sympathy for and understanding of 
the common people which found constant expression in 
effort to promote their advancement. 

Senator Bankhead was raised on a farm and educated 
in the common schools of Lamar County, Ala. The time 
which would otherwise have been devoted to extending 
his education was spent in the Army. But this handicap 
did not discourage him. To him it was only a challenge 
to harder and more constant endeavor. The loss of a 
finished education was compensated by his superb cour- 
age and great common-sense qualities which he possessed 
in most remarkable degree. Nature with lavish hand en- 
dowed him with physical, mental, and moral gifts seldom 
seen. These forces he conserved and enlarged at every 
step from his humble farm to the close of his long and use- 
ful career in the United States Senate. 

When a beardless boy he offered his life in defense of 
the institutions of his native land. With credit to himself 
and his comrades he served throughout the war with the 
brave band who with deathless devotion and sublime 
courage followed the banner of the Southern Confed- 
eracy. As a soldier he displayed the same devotion to 
duty and consummate courage which became the abiding 
characteristic of his life. Three times he was wounded in 
battle, and he rose from the rank of private to that of 
captain. At the close of the tragic and destructive conflict 
he returned to his home and began the work of restora- 
tion as a farmer. 

Mr. Speaker, in every conflict in which this Nation has 
engaged men of the South have added luster to American 
arms and won honor and renown which have come down 
as the common heritage of all sections of the Republic. 
In statesmanship the sons of the South have rendered 
service inseparably linked with the liberties of mankind 
and as lasting as the Government itself. I believe, too, 

[114] 



Address of Mr. Steagall, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker, that history will yet record the truth that not 
in any foreign war nor when fighting against an alien foe 
can be found a truer test of the heroism and courage of 
the southern soldier. 

The real test is to be found in those years of carnage 
when the dauntless and devoted followers of Lee, half fed, 
half clad, inadequately armed, fought on for four long 
years against the matchless resources and overpowering 
numbers of the North. I believe the records of history 
justify the statement that, even against such overwhelming 
odds, they would have conquered had they been matched 
against any men or race under the stars save their own 
brethren of their own country. I don't believe that in all 
history there has been another test of statesmanship, the 
demonstration of the capacity of a great race for the exer- 
cise of the inalienable right of self-government, such as 
was displayed by the men of the South in meeting the 
problems thrust upon them during the period of recon- 
struction. Alabama was one of the States in which those 
problems were present in most difficult form. Senator 
Bankhead was a leader in accomplishing their solution. 
With their fortunes swept away, their lands devastated, 
their treasury empty, their government debauched and in 
control of a horde of strangers and irresponsible Negroes, 
corrupted and taught to hate their former masters, the 
white men of Alabama went about their stupendous task. 
But soon orderly government was established, persons and 
property protected, credit revived, and civilization re- 
stored. In this trying period Senator Bankhead played a 
part which won for him the undying gratitude of the 
people of Alabama. 

He was called to serve three times in the legislature of 
his State, twice in the house of representatives and four 
years in the State senate, and for a term as supervisor of 
the State's convict system. At every step he displayed 

[lt5] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

qualities which endeared him more deeply to the people. 
Then followed his election as a Member of Congress. Still, 
as before, he continued to grow, both in the quality and 
scope of his service and in popular confidence and esteem. 
Never did he seek to enlarge his favor with the public by 
any trick or demagogy or appeal to transient passion and 
prejudice. By nature and training he was a real demo- 
crat — a believer in our system of government, with the 
distribution and limitations of powers established by the 
wise men who framed it. He believed in the old doctrine 
that the citizen should support the Government and that 
the legitimate function of government is to afford protec- 
tion to life, liberty, and property. He recognized that the 
maintenance of property rights is essential to human free- 
dom and happiness. He was a man of the masses and 
devoted to their welfare. 

His greatest achievements in Congress were in connec- 
tion with the improvement of rivers and harbors, the 
development of water power, and the construction of good 
roads. At this time, when the problem of distribution is 
so accentuated, all of us appreciate his wisdom in attach- 
ing so much importance to the extension and improvement 
of transportation. He rendered enduring service in the 
effort to secure Government aid and arousing the Nation 
to the importance of utilizing the waterways with which 
Providence has blessed us. He was a leader in the move- 
ment for Government aid for the construction of good 
roads. He championed the cause when it was unpopular 
and involved him in ridicule and criticism. But he kept 
up the fight and lived to see the entire Nation recognize 
its debt of gratitude for his efforts. Some day we shall 
cease to mock the blessings of Providence and put an end 
to the waste of our vast water power now unused. When 
that time shall come the farmer boy, enabled to read and 
improve his mind, while, by the touch of machinery he 

[116] 



Address of Mr. Steagall, of Alabama 

multiplies the labor of his hands, will bless the memory 
of Senator Bankhead for his foresight in pressing the pol- 
icy of water-power development. In the years to come 
his memory will be cherished, not because of any polished 
phrase or studied speech which pleased for a moment, 
but as a statesman whose common sense and contact with 
the common people enabled him to render real service to 
them. Our history shows few men who have rendered 
service so large and lasting, and few, indeed, are those who 
have been so richly rewarded. Nearly 33 years he was an 
honored and useful Member of the American Congress; 
and there was no honor in the gift of the people of his 
State which might not easily have been his for the asking. 
After all, the story of Senator Bankhead's illustrious 
public career is surpassed in interest by the beauty and 
happiness of his home life. In early life he was married 
to Miss Tallulah Brockman, to whom he gave unstinted 
credit for his success and who still survives him. The 
happy union was blessed with five children — two daugh- 
ters and three sons. A daughter, Mrs. Marie Bankhead 
Owen, was married to the late Dr. Thomas M. Owen, a man 
of high character and splendid attainments, and who at 
the time of his death was State historian of Alabama. 
Mrs. Owen is one of Alabama's most gifted and beloved 
women, and succeeded her husband in the position of 
State historian. Another daughter, Mrs. A. G. Lund, was 
married to Hon. W. H. Perry, a man highly honored by the 
people of South Carolina, and who served for a number of 
years in Congress. A son, Henry M. Bankhead, is now 
serving as colonel in the United States Army. Another 
son, John H. Bankhead, jr., is a leading member of the 
bar and highly influential in the financial and industrial 
circles of his State. The youngest son, Hon. William B. 
Bankhead, our brilliant colleague, now serving his third 
term in this House, amply justifies the confidence of the 

[117] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 



people of Alabama, who look to him to carry on the work 
laid down by his father. It was the unusual distinction of 
Senator Bankhead to have served in Congress at one time 
with a son and at another time with a son-in-law. An 
affectionate father, a devoted husband, a gallant soldier, 
and a useful statesman, he died rich in honors, ripe in 
years. His influence will endure through succeeding 
generations and his memory will long be cherished by a 
grateful people. 



[118] 



Address of Mr. McDuffie, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: I doubt if I can by my words add any- 
thing to the eulogies already heard on this occasion, yet 
because of my fondness for him and the high esteem in 
which those I represent held him I can not refrain from 
adding a few words which I am sure will be too feeble to 
properly portray the high regard and genuine affection 
which were entertained by the people of my district, my 
State, and the Nation for this great statesman. 

Few men in the course of their lives have rendered 
greater service to their fellow man and to their country 
than the one to whose memory we are met to pay tribute 
to-day. Few men achieve higher honors and greater 
glory, and fewer still, who when answering the death 
angel's call, leave the world enjoying a more universal 
respect and admiration of their fellow men than did Sen- 
ator John H. Bankhead. 

Senator Bankhead was what might be called a self- 
made man; that is, he knew and experienced the hard- 
ships of life as a young man, but he was one of a rare 
type who achieved greatness by his superb mentality, his 
splendid ability, and his purity of purpose. The record 
he has made as a citizen, a patriot, and a statesman is 
an inspiration for generations yet to come, and it is the 
pride of all Alabamians. 

At the age of 18 years, when the two great sections of 
this Nation resorted to the arbitrament of the sword to 
settle their differences, he promptly answered the call of 
the South and, as a private, joined the ranks of the most 
gallant army that ever fought for constitutional rights or 
ever known to the history of modern times. Upon many 
a battle field during those four terrible years of lurid 

[119] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

warfare, though many times wounded, he never flinched 
or faltered. Under the most critical and trying circum- 
stances he displayed that valor, chivalry, and courage 
which belonged to the highest and best type of a Confed- 
erate soldier. 

"When the god of battle decided against him and fate 
decreed that his cause could not prevail, he furled his 
immortal banner, and as Capt. Bankhead sheathed his 
stainless sword. He returned to build anew his devas- 
tated, torn, and bleeding, but proud homeland, which he 
loved so well, honored so highly, and served so faith- 
fully, even until the last day of his life. 

No man loved his reunited country more than he. 

Senator Nelson, of Minnesota, that splendid old vet- 
eran of the Union Army and his intimate friend, has 
so well said of Senator Bankhead — 

"While cherishing the memories of the Civil "War and proud of 
the valor of the Southern soldier his activity was wholly in favor 
of the progress and prosperity of our reunited country. And 
while in his youth he was a true sample of the old South, in his 
maturer and later years he was the living embodiment of the new 
South with all of its loyalty, vigor, and prosperity. 

About 35 years ago, after serving several terms in both 
branches of the Alabama Legislature, his people, appre- 
ciating his broad vision, his superb intellectuality, and 
his indomitable energy, commissioned him to serve in 
this House. Here he soon became a most useful and 
valuable Member of Congress, and for 20 years devoted 
his best efforts to the progress and development of the 
Nation. His work in this House and his identity with 
great measures of progressive legislation made of him 
a national figure. 

In 1907 the people of Alabama gave him the highest 
honor within their power by electing him with an over- 
whelming vote to serve in the Senate of the United States. 

[120] 



Address of Mr. McDuffie, of Alabama 

How well he served his district, his State, and Nation for 
more than 30 years the records of both branches of Con- 
gress will show. But, Mr. Speaker, monuments more en- 
during than these records bear witness to-day, all over 
the Union, to his incessant labors for the development, the 
growth, the onward march of industrial progress and 
prosperity of this Nation. Every river and harbor of 
the United States which has been improved by this Gov- 
ernment for nearly a half century has felt the effect of 
his guiding hand and helpful influence. 

Many years ago he became interested in having navi- 
gable water from the coal fields of Alabama to the Gulf of 
Mexico by building a system of locks and dams on the 
Tombigbee and Warrior Rivers. To-day Alabama has the 
longest canalized river in the world, and I am glad that 
Senator Bankhead lived to see the products of the rich 
mineral district of Alabama float down that river system 
to the port of Mobile, there to be exported to all the busy 
markets of the world. At the headwaters of this river, 
several hundred feet above sea level, by the construction 
of a lock and dam, there is a beautiful crystal lake formed 
by the limpid streams which flow from the hearts of the 
surrounding mountains. This lake is fittingly named 
Bankhead Lake. 

Senator Bankhead might well be called the father of 
good roads in America. At his suggestion and due to his 
active interest more than to that of anyone else this Gov- 
ernment began to lend its financial aid to the various 
States for the building of better highways. To-day a 
national highway, said to be the longest on earth, extend- 
ing from coast to coast, bears his honored name. Begin- 
ning at the National Capital, running south through his- 
toric old Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, through his own 
beloved State of Alabama, then westward through Tennes- 
see, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, on 

[121] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

across the Rocky Mountains to San Diego, Calif. It is 
interesting as well as gratifying to every citizen in my 
State to know that the longest canalized river in the world 
and the longest road in the world has forever linked with 
each the name of Alabama's distinguished son, Senator 
Bankhead. 

Mr. Speaker, in my judgment had Senator Bankhead 
done nothing else except the one thing of committing this 
Government to the policy of building better highways, that 
one thing alone entitles him to be known as one of the 
great public benefactors of this Nation. 

One of the outstanding characteristics of his public 
service was his intensity and his prompt and efficient at- 
tention to every duty and every request, whether great or 
small. Whether a call upon him came from the richest 
man in his State or from the one in the humblest walks 
of life he always responded cheerfully and gladly. 

I do not believe the people of any part of Alabama held 
him in higher esteem and more universally admired him 
than those whom I have the honor to represent in this 
Congress. I remember some years ago when the people of 
my home city. Mobile, for whose development Senator 
Bankhead always gave his best efforts, presented him with 
a loving cup as a slight token of their appreciation of him. 
I was in Mobile when the news of his death came over the 
wire, and every man I saw was deeply touched. They felt 
that his death was not only a great loss to his State and 
Nation but they took it as a personal loss. And I would 
beg leave to express for them to-day their deepest sorrow 
and sympathy for his loved ones, and their love for his 
memory. 

Mr. Speaker, I have often thought of Senator Bankhead 
before and since his death. I have contemplated his long 
life of usefulness, his record as a great statesman, his 
charity and love for his fellow man. I have thought of 
the great achievements of his career; of his family of 

[122] 



Address of Mr. McDuffie, of Alabama 

splendid sons and daughters and grandchildren, all of 
whom he lived to see grow into useful manhood and 
womanhood, and one of whom he lived to see an honored 
Member of this House, whom we have all learned to re- 
spect and admire. When I recall these things I know that 
he could but be happy in the later years in the enjoyment 
of the consummation of a well-spent life, the like of which 
is so rare amongst men. 

His work on earth is done, he ran his course, he kept the 
faith, he fought the good fight. His deeds will keep his 
memory alive and continue to call to the minds of coming 
generations the glory of his name. 

The memory of good deeds will ever stay, 

A lamp to light us on the darkened way; 

A music to the ear on clamoring street, 

A cooling well in the noonday heat; 

A scent of green boughs blown through narrow walls, 

A field of rest when quiet evening falls. 



[123] 



Address of Mr. Bowling, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker : It has been a matter of personal satisfac- 
tion to me, a citizen of Alabama, to hear these splendid 
encomiums in honor of a citizen of my State. 

It was not my pleasure to have an intimate personal 
acquaintance with Senator Bankhead, and therefore these 
pleasant recollections of happy associations in the Capitol 
at Washington were denied me. I knew him merely as 
one of the people. My point of view was that of the aver- 
age man of Alabama. My perspective, I think, is that of 
the great body of the people who looked upon this great 
man as one of them. I saw him as one who reflected ac- 
curately the average public opinion of his State and his 
people. The great facts of his life have been related here 
to-day by the gentlemen who have preceded me. They 
stand out in fair relief and will ever illustrate his memory. 
That he was a Confederate soldier brave and true is a part 
of the heritage of the present generation of Alabama, and 
the fact that he went into that great conflict as a private 
soldier and emerged with the commission of a captain and 
an honorable discharge stamped him in the days of his 
vigorous young manhood as a leader, and the same force 
and power that carried him through that great conflict and 
brought him to a position of leadership sustained him 
throughout all his life and characterized his work in Con- 
gress and out. 

In thinking of him and of others who belonged to that 
great army I have often contemplated the task that met 
them when they returned to their homes after the destruc- 
tion of the Southern Confederacy — homes gone, civiliza- 
tion turned upside down, institutions gone, money gone, 
their very traditions gone. In the face of all these ma- 
terial burdens the fearful task that confronted them was 

[124] 



Address of Mr. Bowling, of Alabama 

complicated by the presence of a vast mass of recently 
liberated slaves. 

This young man returned from the battle field with 
honor to take his place in civil life. He was not daunted 
by the tasks that met him, but he took hold of them with 
the strength of his young manhood and with the abund- 
ance of hope that sustained him, and helped to build up 
the waste places again, to assist with all his strength of 
purpose in binding up the Nation's wounds and building 
over again the civilization of a proud and happy people. 
This intensity of purpose carried with him always in his 
future career. As a legislator he stood firm as the pyra- 
mids. We have heard his associates this morning, man 
after man, speak of the strength of his character, the te- 
nacity of his purpose, and the soundness of his judgment. 
These were the elements of his character that carried him 
to such great success, and these were they which fur- 
nished such an inspiration to his people when they looked 
upon him as carrying with him the real incentive to effort 
that would help all men who looked upon his career. 

The great high places of his legislative life are all that 
are known to the people at large. They did not know of 
the thousand intimate associations that illustrated his life 
in Washington. They do not know of the everyday bur- 
dens of the legislator. They only knew that Senator Bank- 
head was in Washington and at work, and now and then 
there came forth the news of this or that achievement. I 
think the high point in his career was that which was so 
forcibly and so accurately presented by the gentleman 
from Tennessee [Mr. Garrett]. The fact that this man, 
beginning alone, fighting a great battle to achieve a great 
purpose alone for so long, finally engrafted upon the 
policy of this great Nation of ours the good-roads move- 
ment and finally committed America to that policy, stands 
out as one of the mountain peaks of achievement in our 

[125] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

national history. And I believe that one of the great re- 
sults of this wonderful Bankhead Highway which has 
been mentioned here, extending from Washington to San 
Diego, will be to mark in the years to come what the Ap- 
pian Way was to old Rome, the center of the greatest 
civilization of the world, and along the sides of that road 
will yet be builded the monuments to the great names and 
the great achievements of America, so that the traveler 
from one State to another can read the history of the 
Nation in the buildings by the side of the road, and always 
it will carry the name of Bankhead fresh to generations 
yet unborn as long as men live and travel in America. 

There is one other feature of this good man who has 
gone of which I would like to say one word in conclusion. 

His associates have spoken beautifully of the strength of 
his manhood and the purity of his character. All of this 
grew out of the fact that he believed in God, and com- 
mitted himself into the hands of our Redeemer. He had a 
simple, childlike trust in the revelation that came to him 
at his mother's knee of the great and eternal principles of 
the Christian religion, and this begat in him a lively hope 
of a greater and better existence beyond the grave. 

And so, when the summons came to him, when the grim 
reaper appeared, he looked him in the face and did not 
tremble. He had faced death on the battle field years be- 
fore, and had escaped; but now, in the consciousness that 
his hour had come, he was sustained and soothed by that 
unfaltering trust that made him approach his grave like 
one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and 
lies down to pleasant dreams. 

His memory lives with us; but he lives in another and 
better existence, waiting for us all to meet him again some 
time, somewhere. 

I know not where His islands lift their fronded palms in air, 
I only know we can not drift beyond His love and care. 

[126] 



Address of Mr. Oliver, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker : On December 9, 1920, distinguished Sen- 
ators from North, East, West, and South devoted one 
entire day in the Senate of the United States to paying 
beautiful, loving, and well-deserved tribute to their late 
colleague, the Hon. John H. Bankhead, Alabama's illus- 
trious and beloved son, who passed over the river on the 
evening of March 1, 1920. 

None knew his private and official life better than his 
associates in the Senate, and none were so well qualified 
to write into the permanent records of the Nation the 
inspiring and wonderful life story of this great soldier, 
statesman, and citizen. We come to-day to bear witness 
to the correctness of that record. 

In my early boyhood I came to know, to love, and ad- 
mire Senator Bankhead and now cherish as a priceless 
memory the recollection of his worth and friendship. 

His work has added luster to the State, and through- 
out the Nation he is known and honored. He was a man 
of varied talents, of great activity, of tender heart, strong 
mind, and one who planned for deeds that live. His life 
has been an eminently useful and helpful one. He was a 
tireless, intelligent worker, and a statesman who placed 
public good above private gain. 

He had a depth of human sympathy seldom surpassed, 
and his unfailing cheerfulness made and kept friends 
through life. Few men in public life had a broader or 
more comprehensive view of public affairs, and no man 
ever gave more cheerfully of his strength and time to 
secure useful legislation. 

How fitting, then, in recognition of his distinguished 
national service, that a great public highway, stretching 

[127] 



Memorial Addresses: Senator Bankhead 

from the Capital to the Far West, and a marvelous lock 
and dam on one of the Nation's busy waterways should 
now bear his name for all time. 

The Washington Star had watched for more than a 
quarter of a century the official life of Senator Bankhead, 
and his distinguished colleague, the late Senator Martin, 
of Virginia, and there appears in its March 2, 1920, issue 
this simple, yet splendid, tribute to their legislative work : 

JOHN H. BANKHEAD. 

Senator Bankhead and the late Senator Martin had as legislators 
much in common. They were doers rather than talkers. Both 
talked well and persuasively, but seldom in the Senate Chamber. 
They reserved their tongues for the committee room. There they 
talked to the point and with good effect. They helped put many 
measures into the proper shape, and thus smoothed the way for 
their enactment into law. Both were industrious and took the 
practical side of questions. Both kept their feet on the ground 
and made no play for nebulous tributes paid to so-called men of 
vision. Theirs was the vision that saw things close at hand, saw 
them whole and in their proper proportions, and attended to them 
promptly and successfully. The present generation has not seen 
two more useful men in service on Capitol Hill. 

These men were rewarded by their constituents according to 
their deserts. Having demonstrated their fitness, both became 
invincible at home and were kept in office many years. Both 
died in harness. 

I often dined with him in the years gone by in his beauti- 
ful farm home near Fayette, Ala., and his exemplary rou- 
tine and kindness about his home were so instilled on my 
mind that I can never forget them. No man ever loved 
and worshiped his family more than he. He held the 
sacredness of his home above all else in the world. He 
was an ideal husband and father— kind, patient, loving, 
devoted, generous, and true — and there never was a needy 
one turned from the door of his home empty handed. 



[128] 



Address of Mr. Oliver, of Alabama 

His kind advice, the encouragement and counsel he has 
given his friends at home, the countless deeds of kindness 
and of love to his neighbors will build for him a monu- 
ment in the memory of his friends higher and more endur- 
ing than any marble shaft. 

To live in hearts we have left behind is not to die. 

How beautiful, then, to remember that he passed away 
in harness, widely loved and respected, rich in earthly 
honors and distinctions, leaving to his State and country 
the legacy of a life of high and honorable endeavor, the 
record of beneficent principles enacted into law, and a 
name graven deep in the imperishable granite of a 
people's gratitude and remembrance. 

Of him it can be said: 

He so lived that when he died he is missed. He so lived that 
loved ones may find in him an inspiration to goodness. He so 
lived that religion may find through him a witness to its great 
beneficence. He so lived that if his children do evil they can not 
say " This my father taught me." He so lived that he shall enjoy 
to its fullest the happiness of the immortality hope. He so lived 
that, now gone, he can not be forgotten. 



46667—21 9 1129 



Address of Mr. Rainey, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker : It has been the custom of man from time 
immemorial to pay tribute to the dead. In pursuance of 
that time-honored custom we have assembled here to-day 
to pay tribute to that distinguished and illustrious son of 
Alabama, the late Senator John Hollis Bankhead. He 
lived a long and useful life; rendered valuable service to 
the Confederacy in the Civil War; succeeded in the busi- 
ness world; and then later served many terms in the 
House, where he rendered valuable service to his State in 
the opening of the Warrior River to navigation. Later the 
people of our State honored him again by electing him to 
the United States Senate. As the honored successor to 
John T. Morgan, he wore with distinction the senatorial 
toga, and during his entire service in the Senate his integ- 
rity, loyalty, and statesmanship were never questioned. 
One of his greatest achievements is the Bankhead High- 
way, a national asset. While I did not know the Senator 
intimately, except for the brief period I was with him in 
Washington, yet having known of him for practically all 
of my life I feel that I am well acquainted with his char- 
acter, work, and life, and therefore can speak truly of him. 
It has ever been the custom, Mr. Speaker, on occasions like 
this, to extol the virtues and praise the life, works, and 
character of the deceased. Perhaps the generosity of 
mankind in this regard is not altogether amiss, since we 
may draw lessons, in this solemn hour, of benefit to the 
living. I wish to say, Mr. Speaker, that neither words, 
high-sounding phrases, nor flights of oratory lend color to 
his character nor magnify his greatness. In this instance 
the naked truth suffices, and gives a real charm and a 
lasting glory to his name. Senator John Hollis Bankhead 

[1301 



Address of Mr. Rainey, of Alabama 



needs no encomium from me. His long life of service to 
his country stands as an enduring monument, and nothing 
that I may say will add to or detract from the greatness of 
this splendid man. He belonged to the old school — that 
type of statesmanship fast passing away; strong, rugged, 
plain, honest, faithful to every duty, and incorruptible in 
his character. In the days of Julius Caesar he would have 
graced the Roman forum. A man of far-seeing vision, de- 
pendable and courageous, not of that meteoric type which 
illumines the heavens for a brief period and dies, but of 
that constant, serene type, as a planet giving out its en- 
during and fervid rays which light the mariner in his 
course and beams steadily upon the shepherd and his 
flock. Alabama and her people will ever gratefully re- 
member the honored name, and there will ever live in 
the hearts of her people the memory of John Hollis 

Bankhead. 

adjournment. 

In acordance with the resolution, at 2 o'clock and 45 
minutes p. m., the House adjourned until to-morrow, 
Monday, January 31, 1921, at 12 o'clock noon. 



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